Reading in the Past: The Sea of Monsters
by Divine Protector of Mangos
Summary: Everyone is back in this continuation of my Reading in the Past series! Now, everyone's reading the Sea of Monsters, and how will the gods react with Luke breathing right there in the throne room with them. I don't own PJATO or HOO
1. Chapter 1

**Hola peoples of this planet called Earth. I present to you Chapter 1:**

**Chapter 1**

The next day, the gods entered the throne room to find Percy glaring at Luke, who was tied up and duct-taped to the wall. Annabeth was sitting on Percy's lap, deep in thought. AJ was sitting next to PJ, who was next to Percy. AJ was looking at Luke with a look of questionable disbelief.

"Why is my son duct-taped to the wall?" asked Hermes

"Even after reading part of the book," snarled Percy, "he still went after the Mast Bolt. This time, he tried to steal my dad's trident as well as Hades's helm."

"WHAT?" boomed Zeus, lightning flashing around him, while Poseidon and Hades just glared at the son of Hermes as they sat down.

"I did not," said Luke, "it's all a lie! This kid hates my guts, and is trying all he can do to get me killed."

"If I wanted you killed," said Percy, still glaring, "I would have let Zeus kill you, but I let you live so that you will die when you're supposed to die."

"It still doesn't change the fact that you lied," said Luke

"Actually I was getting to that," said Percy, before looking down at Annabeth and kissing the top of her head, breaking her out of her thoughts, "do you want to do the honors?"

"Sure," said Annabeth, smiling, "you see, there's a hidden video camera here that recorded all that has happened so far."

As Annabeth went to get the video recording, Zeus asked, "Why do we have a hidden video camera?"

"It was my idea," said Hephaestus, "so that we know who comes into the throne room when no one's here."

Zeus simply nodded, as Annabeth came back with the recording and played it on the projector Hephaestus conjured up. When it started playing, she fast forwarded it to where Luke was attempting to steal the weapons of power. Once it stopped, the Big Three cried out in outrage.

"GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I CAN'T KILL THIS KID!" yelled Zeus, standing up and getting ready to strike, along with Hades

"As much as I want to," said Poseidon, "we can't because the Fates told us in the letter that we can't. Would you really want to go against the Fates?"

Zeus simply grumbled and both he and Hades sat back down.

"Luke I still don't get why you would do such a thing," said AJ

"Annie," said Luke, "you should know. What have the gods ever done for us?"

"Let's see," said AJ, as Annabeth scowled, "they've let us live peacefully; they've helped us from time to time; they've protected us from time to time; they've—"

"Okay," said Luke, "that's enough. Those things anyone can give us. How exactly have the gods helped us?"

At this, everyone was in deep thought, even the gods, who shifted awkwardly as nothing came to mind. Just then, Percy thought of something.

"The gods have given us the internet!" exclaimed Percy

"How is that helping us?" asked Luke

"Easy," said Percy, "our parents could use the internet to find out more about Greek culture and monsters, so that they know how deadly a monster might be, in case one decides to try and attack a demigod."

Everyone simply looked at him dumbfounded, while Annabeth simply cuddled into him and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Why don't we start the next book?" asked Annabeth

**My Best Friend Shops for a Wedding Dress.**

"I thought you said that you guys were dating?" asked Leo

"We are!" said Percy and Annabeth, blushing scarlet, along with PJ and AJ

"Then who?" asked Piper

"Grover," said Percy, causing Grover to blush

"Who's the lucky lady?" asked Aphrodite

"It's Grover!" said Percy and Annabeth, causing everyone to get confused

"Read on!" yelled Grover, not wanting to get any more embarrassed.

"You know," whispered Percy to Annabeth, "considering this chapter title is on wedding dresses, I really wish sooner or later you'd be doing the same thing at our wedding."

Annabeth blushed, smiled, gave Percy a kiss, and snuggled closer to him.

**My nightmare started like this.**

"Nightmare?" asked Poseidon

"Well it wasn't one by today's standards," said Percy, "but back then, it was considered a nightmare."

**I was standing on a deserted street in some little beach town. It was the middle of the night. A storm was blowing. Wind and rain ripped at the palm trees along the sidewalk. Pink and yellow stucco buildings lined the street, their windows boarded up. A block away, past a line of hibiscus bushes, the ocean churned.**

_**Florida, **_**I thought. Though I wasn't sure how I knew that. I'd never been to Florida.**

"That's because it's near the ocean," said Poseidon

**Then I heard hooves clattering against the pavement. I turned and saw my friend Grover running for his life.**

**Yeah, I said **_**hooves.**_

**Grover is a satyr. From the waist up, he looks like a typical gangly teenager with a peach-fuzz goatee and a bad case of acne. **

"Gee thanks," said Grover

**He walks with a strange limp, but unless you happen to catch him without his pants on (which I don't recommend),**

Grover huffed

**you'd never know there was anything un-human about him. Baggy jeans and fake feet hide the fact that he's got furry hindquarters and hooves.**

**Grover had been my best friend in sixth grade. He'd gone on this adventure with me and a girl named Annabeth to save the world, but I hadn't seen him since last July, when he set off alone on a dangerous quest—a quest no satyr had ever returned from.**

**Anyway, in my dream, Grover was hauling goat tail, holding his human shoes in his hands the way he does when he needs to move fast. He clopped past the little tourist shops and surfboard rental places. The wind bent the palm trees almost to the ground.**

**Grover was terrified of something behind him. He must've just come from the beach. Wet sand was caked in his fur. He'd escaped from somewhere. He was trying to get away from ... something.**

"Yeah," said Grover, "that something almost tried to eat me alive!"

**A bone-rattling growl cut through the storm. Behind Grover, at the far end of the block, a shadowy figure loomed. It swatted aside a street lamp, which burst in a shower of sparks.**

**Grover stumbled, whimpering in fear. He muttered to himself, **_**Have to get away. Have to warn them!**_

"I was really hoping that I could get an empathy link through," said Grover

**I couldn't see what was chasing him, but I could hear it muttering and cursing. The ground shook as it got closer. Grover dashed around a street corner and faltered. He'd run into a dead-end courtyard full of shops. No time to back up. The nearest door had been blown open by the storm. The sign above the darkened display window read: ST. AUGUSTINE BRIDAL BOUTIQUE.**

"They have some nice selections," said Hera

"Yeah they do," said Aphrodite, smiling

**Grover dashed inside. He dove behind a rack of wedding dresses.**

**The monster's shadow passed in front of the shop. I could smell the thing—a sickening combination of wet sheep wool and rotten meat and that weird sour body odor only monsters can have, like a skunk that's been living off Mexican food.**

"Where do you get this?" asked Thalia as everyone laughed, "You'd expect this from hyper Nico."

Nico was too busy laughing to retort.

**Grover trembled behind the wedding dresses. The monster's shadow passed on.**

**Silence except for the rain. Grover took a deep breath. Maybe the thing was gone.**

**Then lightning flashed. The entire front of the store exploded, and a monstrous voice bellowed: "MIIIIINE!"**

**I sat bolt upright, shivering in my bed.**

"Hate it when that happens," said Percy and PJ at the same time, the older smiling to the younger, who smiled back

Annabeth simply squeezed Percy's hand in reassurance.

**There was no storm. No monster.**

**Morning sunlight filtered through my bedroom window.**

**I thought I saw a shadow flicker across the glass—a humanlike shape.**

"Now why were you trying to peek outside my window?" asked Percy, breathing down Annabeth's neck, causing her to shiver, "Was it because you were trying to sneak a peek of me changing?"

"I do that now anyways," said Annabeth, "and no I was not."

"So you sneak a peek outside my window?" asked Percy, playfully

"Wha-no!" said Annabeth, blushing, "I meant seeing you change! You always tend to forget to get ready for our dates sometimes, so I see you changing in your cabin."

**But then there was a knock on my bed room door—my mom called: "Percy, you're going to be late"—and the shadow at the window disappeared.**

**It must've been my imagination. A fifth-story window with a rickety old fire escape ... there couldn't have been anyone out there.**

**"Come on, dear," my mother called again. "Last day of school. You should be excited! You've almost made it!"**

"And you somehow manage to get kicked out," said Thalia

**"Coming," I managed.**

**I felt under my pillow. My fingers closed reassuringly around the ballpoint pen I always slept with. I brought it out, studied the Ancient Greek writing engraved on the side: **_**Anaklusmos. **_**Riptide.**

**I thought about uncapping it, but something held me back. I hadn't used Riptide for so long….**

"Oh boy," said Poseidon

**Besides, my mom had made me promise not to use deadly weapons in the apartment after I'd swung a javelin the wrong way and taken out her china cabinet. I put Anaklusmos on my nightstand and dragged myself out of bed.**

**I got dressed as quickly as I could. I tried not to think about my nightmare or monsters or the shadow at my window.**

_**Have to get away. Have to warn them!**_

**What had Grover meant?**

**I made a three-fingered claw over my heart and pushed outward—an ancient gesture Grover had once taught me for warding off evil.**

**The dream couldn't have been real.**

"Yes it could," said the demigods, except PJ and Percy, around the room

"Well I didn't know it then," said Percy

**Last day of school. My mom was right, I should have been excited. For the first time in my life, I'd almost made it an entire year without getting expelled. No weird accidents. No fights in the classroom. No teachers turning into monsters and trying to kill me with poisoned cafeteria food or exploding homework. **

**Tomorrow, I'd be on my way to my favorite place in the world—Camp Half-Blood.**

**Only one more day to go. Surely even I couldn't mess that up.**

"Yes you can," said Thalia

**As usual, I didn't have a clue how wrong I was.**

"Like I said," said Nico

"You idiot!" said Thalia, slapping Nico, "I said that!"

**My mom made blue waffles and blue eggs for breakfast. She's funny that way, celebrating special occasions with blue food. I think it's her way of saying anything is possible. Percy can pass seventh grade. Waffles can be blue. Little miracles like that.**

**I ate at the kitchen table while my mom washed dishes. She was dressed in her work uniform—a starry blue skirt and a red-and-white striped blouse she wore to sell candy at Sweet on America. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail.**

**The waffles tasted great, but I guess I wasn't digging in like I usually did. My mom looked over and frowned. "Percy, are you all right?"**

"She can just tell when's somethings off, can't she?" asked Annabeth, and got nods from those who've known her, even Poseidon

**"Yeah ... fine."**

**But she could always tell when something was bothering me. She dried her hands and sat down across from me. "School, or ..."**

**She didn't need to finish. I knew what she was asking.**

**"I think Grover's in trouble," I said, and I told her about my dream.**

**She pursed her lips. We didn't talk much about the **_**other **_**part of my life. We tried to live as normally as possible, but my mom knew all about Grover.**

"You make it sound so wrong," said Leo

**"I wouldn't be too worried, dear," she said. "Grover is a big satyr now. If there were a problem, I'm sure we would've heard from ... from camp..." Her shoulders tensed as she said the word **_**camp.**_

"Oh, is this the year?" asked Thalia

"Yeah," said Percy

**"What is it?" I asked.**

**"Nothing," she said. "I'll tell you what. This afternoon we'll celebrate the end of school. I'll take you and Tyson to Rockefeller Center—to that skateboard shop you like."**

Annabeth started feeling down when she heard Tyson's name, since she felt guilty about the way she treated him when they met. Percy, sensing this, squeezed her hand in reassurance.

**Oh, man, that was tempting. We were always struggling with money. Between my mom's night classes and my private school tuition, we could never afford to do special stuff like shop for a skateboard. But something in her voice bothered me.**

**"Wait a minute," I said. "I thought we were packing me up for camp tonight."**

**She twisted her dishrag. "Ah, dear, about that ... I got a message from Chiron last night."**

**My heart sank. Chiron was the activities director at Camp Half-Blood. He wouldn't contact us unless something serious was going on. "What did he say?"**

**"He thinks ... it might not be safe for you to come to camp just yet. We might have to postpone."**

"How could Camp Half-Blood not be safe?" asked Athena

_**"Postpone? **_**Mom, how could it not be **_**safe**_**? I'm a half-blood! It's like the only safe place on earth for me!"**

"Good thing you added 'for me'," said Jason, "I would have argued against it if it wasn't for that."

**"Usually, dear. But with the problems they're having—"**

"What problems?" asked Poseidon

**"**_**What **_**problems?"**

**"Percy ... I'm very, very sorry. I was hoping to talk to you about it this afternoon. I can't explain it all now. I'm not even sure Chiron can. Everything happened so suddenly."**

**My mind was reeling. How could I **_**not **_**go to camp? I wanted to ask a million questions, but just then the kitchen clock chimed the half-hour.**

**My mom looked almost relieved. "Seven-thirty, dear. You should go. Tyson will be waiting."**

**"But—"**

**"Percy, we'll talk this afternoon. Go on to school."**

**That was the last thing I wanted to do, but my mom had this fragile look in her eyes—a kind of warning, like if I pushed her too hard she'd start to cry.**

"Women and their tears," said Apollo, "worst weapon a female could ever have."

**Besides, she was right about my friend Tyson. I had to meet him at the subway station on time or he'd get upset. He was scared of traveling underground alone.**

**I gathered up my stuff, but I stopped in the doorway. "Mom, this problem at camp. Does it... could it have anything to do with my dream about Grover?"**

**She wouldn't meet my eyes. "We'll talk this afternoon, dear. I'll explain ... as much as I can."**

**Reluctantly, I told her good-bye. I jogged downstairs to catch the Number Two train.**

**I didn't know it at the time, but my mom and I would never get to have our afternoon talk.**

**In fact, I wouldn't be seeing home for a long, long time.**

"Oh boy," said Poseidon, "I knew I wouldn't like it ever since she mentioned problems."

**As I stepped outside, I glanced at the brownstone building across the street. Just for a second I saw a dark shape in the morning sunlight—a human silhouette against the brick wall, a shadow that belonged to no one.**

"Actually it belonged to Nobody," said Percy, laughing along with Annabeth and Grover.

**Then it rippled and vanished.**

Just then, a bright light filled the room once again, and after a few minutes, dimmed.

**A/N Okay, First: Question: Who do you think will be the next person/people coming?**

**Second: Good News and Bad News.**

**Good News: Tennis season is over, so I'll be able to update faster then the past few weeks**

**Bad News: Finals are coming up, so I may not be able to update as fast as implied in the previous statement. Also, I also have a few things coming up where I may not have access to a computer, so until next time: Keep being random, and annoying**

**Peace,**

**82mangolian**


	2. Chapter 2

When the light dimmed, there stood a dark-skinned girl and a big kid who would have been intimidating if it weren't for his baby face.

"Where are we?" asked the dark-skinned girl

"We're on Olympus, guys," said Percy

"You know them?" asked Annabeth

"We went on a quest together," said Hazel, "we just got back from it and just finished a battle in Camp Jupiter. I'm Hazel Lavesque, daughter of Pluto, and this is Frank Zheng, son of Mars."

Frank greeted everyone, and Hazel scanned over the rest of them, before stopping on Jason with wide eyes. "Jason, is that you?"

"Yeah," said Jason, "um, how is everyone?"

"They're fine," said Hazel, "Reyna was able to avoid handing over the second preatorship to Octavion. How much do you remember?"

"Mainly faces and names," said Jason, "but that's about it."

"Oh," said Hazel, looking down, before looking back up, "who are all you guys?"

Everyone then reintroduced themselves, when Frank asked, "Why is Luke duct taped to the wall?"

"Because he's a no good, little piece of shi—," started Percy, before getting scolded by Annabeth. "Fine, he tried to steal the Big Three's weapons of power."

"Why would you do that?" asked Frank, "That's like suicide."

"If I had succeeded," said Luke, "then the gods would have civil war amongst themselves, and once all their forces would have been worn down or exhausted, then my Lord would rise up and take take over Olympus."

"Why would you want to topple the gods?" asked Hazel

"What have they ever done to us?" asked Luke

"Not this again," said Annabeth, "just give it up Luke, you're o the wrong side."

"No I'm not," said Luke, "I'm on the winning side."

"Kronos won't win," said Percy, "not as long as there's a willing hero to go to any and all lengths to stop him."

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" screamed Artemis, "Continue this pointless argument later. Right now, let's get on with the book."

"Before we do," said Hazel, "can someone tell us where exactly this is. Percy told us a bunch of stuff on our trip back, but we didn't get much except that after he found out he was a half-blood, he had gotten Lord Jupiter's Master Bolt and Father's Helm of Darkness back to their rightful owners and prevented civil war, basically."

"That's where we left of in the last, which is the first, book," said Annabeth, "we just started this book and found out that Percy's almost made a year in school, which is an accomplishment in itself, and that he hasn't had much practice with his sword in a year."

"Oh, carry on," said Hazel

**I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals**

"This should be fun," said Nico, smiling creepily

"Wait a minute," said Hazel, "Nico, you're Greek?"

"Yeah, sorry," said Nico

"It's fine," said Hazel, "Just wanted to clarify."

**My day started normal. Or as normal as it ever gets at Meriwether College Prep.**

"Forget that," said Thalia, "how about as normal as it ever gets for Percy's life."

**See, it's this "progressive" school in downtown Manhattan, which means we sit on beanbag chairs instead of at desks, and we don't get grades, and the teachers wear jeans and rock concert T-shirts to work.**

"That sounds like a great place to go to school," said Hazel

**That's all cool with me. I mean, I'm ADHD and dyslexic, like most half-bloods, so I'd never done that great in regular schools even before they kicked me out. The only bad thing about Meriwether was that the teachers always looked on the bright side of things, and the kids weren't always ... well, bright.**

"You got that right," snorted Thalia

"Percy can be bright when he wants to be," said Annabeth, consoling a pouting Percy

**Take my first class today: English. The whole middle school had read this book called**_**Lord of the Flies,**_**where all these kids get marooned on an island and go psycho.**

"You read a book?" asked Thalia, Nico, and AJ

"I can read a book," said Percy, "I just choose not to because it's hard for me. Plus, they didn't have any Greek copies, so it was even harder."

"That's no excuse," said Thalia and Nico

"Okay then," said Percy, "I'll get some English copies for you guys and see how you read them."

That shut Thalia and Nico up

**So for our final exam, our teachers sent us into the break yard to spend an hour with no adult supervision to see what would happen. What happened was a massive wedgie contest between the seventh and eighth graders, two pebble fights, and a full-tackle basketball game.**

"That's terrible," said Hazel, remembering her school days in the past.

**The school bully, Matt Sloan, led most of those activities.**

"Add one more to the people Percy hates," said nico

"You don't even know him, do you?" asked Hades

"No," said Nico, "but Percy hates all bullies, so he's going to hate Matt Sloan."

**Sloan wasn't big or strong, but he acted like he was. He had eyes like a pit bull, and shaggy black hair, and he always dressed in expensive but sloppy clothes, like he wanted everybody to see how little he cared about his family's money. One of his front teeth was chipped from the time he'd taken his daddy's Porsche for a joyride and run into a PLEASE SLOW DOWN FOR CHILDREN sign.**

"That is a poor excuse for a child," said Hera

**Anyway, Sloan was giving everybody wedgies until he made the mistake of trying it on my friend Tyson.**

"Tyson's more than a friend," said Percy, while Poseidon perked up at the mention of his Cyclopes son, wondering if it's the same one he's thinking about.

"Isn't Tyson the guy who Ella likes?" asked Hazel, which Percy responded with a nod.

"It's nice to know that Tyson has found someone who likes him," said Annabeth, with Nico, Thalia, Hazel, Frank, Grover, and Percy agreeing

**Tyson was the only homeless kid at Meriwether College Prep. As near as my mom and I could figure, he'd been abandoned by his parents when he was very young, probably because he was so ... different.**

"He is," said Annabeth

**He was six-foot-three and built like the Abominable Snowman, but he cried a lot and was scared of just about everything, including his own reflection.**

"What a crybaby," said Ares

"That cry baby is now a Olympian army general," glared Percy, while Poseidon looked proud, and confused, as was the rest of the Olympians, as to how he was able to do that.

"Isn't Tyson a mortal?" asked Athena

"Not telling," said Percy

**His face was kind of misshapen and brutal-looking. I couldn't tell you what color his eyes were,**

"Eye," said Annabeth

**because I could never make myself look higher than his crooked teeth. His voice was deep, but he talked funny, like a much younger kid—I guess because he'd never gone to school before coming to Meriwether. He wore tattered jeans, grimy size-twenty sneakers, and a plaid flannel shirt with holes in it. He smelled like a New York City alleyway, because that's where he lived, in a cardboard refrigerator box off 72nd Street.**

"That's terrible," said the majority of the female Olympians

**Meriwether Prep had adopted him as a community service project so all the students could feel good about themselves. Unfortunately, most of them couldn't stand Tyson. Once they discovered he was a big softie, despite his massive strength and his scary looks, they made themselves feel good by picking on him. I was pretty much his only friend, which meant he was**_**my**_**only friend.**

"What do you mean 'you're only friend'?" asked Annabeth

"Well, you're my girlfriend, so that can't be taken," said Percy, "and I meant he was my only friend at Meriwether Prep."

**My mom had complained to the school a million times that they weren't doing enough to help him. She'd called social services, but nothing ever seemed to happen. The social workers claimed Tyson didn't exist. They swore up and down that they'd visited the alley we described and couldn't find him, though how you miss a giant kid living in a refrigerator box, I don't know.**

"So he's not a mortal?" asked Athena, but the futures just shook their heads in denial of telling her

**Anyway, Matt Sloan snuck up behind him and tried to give him a wedgie, and Tyson panicked. He swatted Sloan away a little too hard. Sloan flew fifteen feet and got tangled in the little kids' tire swing.**

"Take that Sloan!" said those who knew Tyson

**"You freak!" Sloan yelled. "Why don't you go back to your cardboard box!"**

**Tyson started sobbing. He sat down on the jungle gym so hard he bent the bar, and buried his head in his hands.**

"Big kid," said Hephaestus

**"Take it back, Sloan!" I shouted.**

**Sloan just sneered at me. "Why do you even bother, Jackson? You might have**_**friends**_**if you weren't always sticking up for that freak."**

**I balled my fists. I hoped my face wasn't as red as it felt. "He's**_**not**_**a freak. He's just..."**

**I tried to think of the right thing to say, but Sloan wasn't listening. He and his big ugly friends were too busy laughing. I wondered if it were my imagination, or if Sloan had more goons hanging around him than usual. I was used to seeing him with two or three, but today he had like, half a dozen more, and I was pretty sure I'd never seen them before.**

"You're very observant boy," said Artemis

"Um, thank you," said Percy

"I wish I got compliments from Lady Artemis," whispered Grover

**"Just wait till PE, Jackson," Sloan called. "You are**_**so**_**dead."**

"He would have been if it weren't for me," said Annabeth, causing people, except Grover, Thalia, and Nico, to wonder what she meant.

**When first period ended, our English teacher, Mr. de Milo, came outside to inspect the carnage. He pronounced that we'd understood**_**Lord of the Flies**_**perfectly. We all passed his course, and we should never, never grow up to be violent people.**

"Like telling them would help," snorted Thalia

**Matt Sloan nodded earnestly, then gave me a chip-toothed grin.**

**I had to promise to buy Tyson an extra peanut butter sandwich at lunch to get him to stop sobbing.**

**"I ... I am a freak?" he asked me.**

**"No," I promised, gritting my teeth. "Matt Sloan is the freak."**

**Tyson sniffled. "You are a good friend. Miss you next year if ... if I can't ..."**

**His voice trembled. I realized he didn't know if he'd be invited back next year for the community service project. I wondered if the headmaster had even bothered talking to him about it.**

**"Don't worry, big guy," I managed. "Everything's going to be fine."**

**Tyson gave me such a grateful look I felt like a big liar. How could I promise a kid like him that**_**anything**_**would be fine?**

"He can do that to you," said Annabeth, somewhat depressed. Percy squeezed her hand in assurance.

**Our next exam was science. Mrs. Tesla told us that we had to mix chemicals until we succeeded in making something explode, Tyson was my lab partner. His hands were way too big for the tiny vials we were supposed to use. He accidentally knocked a tray of chemicals off the counter and made an orange mushroom cloud in the trashcan.**

"They actually give you grades for blowing stuff up?" asked AJ, while PJ shrugged

**After Mrs. Tesla evacuated the lab and called the hazardous waste removal squad, she praised Tyson and me for being natural chemists. We were the first ones who'd ever aced her exam in under thirty seconds.**

"Wow, Kelp Head actually aced a test," said Thalia, "and was the first one to do so. The world has to be ending."

Percy pouted, though Annabeth could tell he was slightly affected by this, though she wasn't sure why she hadn't noticed before.

**I was glad the morning went fast, because it kept me from thinking too much about my problems. I couldn't stand the idea that something might be wrong at camp. Even worse, I couldn't shake the memory of my bad dream. I had a terrible feeling that Grover was in danger.**

"Listen to that feeling Percy," pleaded Poseidon, "help your friends."

**In social studies, while we were drawing latitude/longitude maps, I opened my notebook and stared at the photo inside—my friend Annabeth**

"Just a friend?" asked Annabeth

"Best Friend and Girlfriend," corrected Percy

Annabeth snuggled into him, pleased, while Thalia, Nico, PJ, AJ, and Luke pretended to puke

**on vacation in Washington, D.C. She was wearing jeans and a denim jacket over her orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. Her blond hair was pulled back in a bandanna. She was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial with her arms crossed, looking extremely pleased with herself, like she'd personally designed the place.**

"I was just happy to be there," said Annabeth

**See, Annabeth wants to be an architect when she grows up, so she's always visiting famous monuments and stuff. She's weird that way.**

"Weird?" asked Annabeth

"We're all weird in a way," said Percy, "Nico has dual personality, Thalia has her odd fear, Hazel's not from this century, Frank has a weird power, I like blue food, Annabeth's obsession with architecture, and Leo being Leo."

"See, even Percy thinks you're weird and he doesn't even know you!" said Piper

**She'd e-mailed me the picture after spring break, and every once in a while I'd look at it just to remind myself she was real and Camp Half-Blood hadn't just been my imagination.**

**I wished Annabeth were here. She'd know what to make of my dream. I'd never admit it to her, but she was smarter than me,**

"Of course I am," said Annabeth, while AJ beamed with pride

"She's the smartest mortal alive," said Thalia

**even if she was annoying sometimes.**

Annabeth and AJ huffed and crossed their arms, while Percy said, "Don't we all annoy each other."

Annabeth simply turned into Percy's body while smiling into him, and Percy wrapped his arms around her.

**I was about to close my notebook when Matt Sloan reached over and ripped the photo out of the rings.**

**"Hey!" I protested.**

**Sloan checked out the picture and his eyes got wide. "No way, Jackson. Who is that? She is**_**not**_**your—"**

"Yes I am," said Annabeth, "you got a problem with that?"

**"Give it back!" My ears felt hot.**

**Sloan handed the photo to his ugly buddies, who snickered and started ripping it up to make spit wads. They were new kids who must've been visiting, because they were all wearing those stupid HI! MY NAME IS: tags from the admissions office. They must've had a weird sense of humor, too, because they'd all filled in strange names like: MARROW SUCKER, SKULL EATER, and JOE BOB. No human beings had names like that.**

"Should have been your first clue," said thalia

"Hey, I haven't seen the video at this point, so I'm somewhat slow here," said Percy

"Admitting you're slow is the first step to acceptance," said Nico

"When did you see the video?" asked Thalia

"It was after me and Annabeth got together," said Percy, careful to avoid talk of the war.

**"These guys are moving here next year," Sloan bragged, like that was supposed to scare me. "I bet they can**_**pay**_**the tuition, too, unlike your retard friend."**

**"He's**_**not**_**retarded." I had to try really, really hard not to punch Sloan in the face.**

"You really should control your impulses of when to listen to it and when not to," said Thalias

**"You're such a loser, Jackson. Good thing I'm gonna put you out of your misery next period."**

**His huge buddies chewed up my photo. I wanted to pulverize them, but I was under strict orders from Chiron never to take my anger out on regular mortals, no matter how obnoxious they were. I had to save my fighting for monsters.**

**Still, part of me thought, if Sloan only knew who I really was ...**

"You're right," said Thalia, "if he knew, then he'd be in freaking China by now."

**The bell rang.**

**As Tyson and I were leaving class, a girl's voice whispered, "Percy!"**

**I looked around the locker area, but nobody was paying me any attention. Like any girl at Meriwether would ever be caught dead calling my name.**

"Why is that?" asked Annabeth

"I get lost when it comes to girls," said Percy, "plus, being with Tyson did not help at all."

**Before I had time to consider whether or not I'd been imagining things, a crowd of kids rushed for the gym, carrying Tyson and me along with them. It was time for PE. Our coach had promised us a free-for-all dodgeball game, and Matt Sloan had promised to kill me.**

**The gym uniform at Meriwether is sky blue shorts and tie-dyed T-shirts. Fortunately, we did most of our athletic stuff inside, so we didn't have to jog through Tribeca looking like a bunch of boot-camp hippie children.**

"Boot-camp hippie children," snickered Nico, who got slapped by Thalia

**I changed as quickly as I could in the locker room because I didn't want to deal with Sloan. I was about to leave when Tyson called, "Percy?"**

**He hadn't changed yet. He was standing by the weight room door, clutching his gym clothes. "Will you ... uh ..."**

"Get down on your knees for me?" filled in Nico, who got slapped by Thalia and Percy

"No!" said Percy, while Thalia said, "There are ten-year olds present!"

"It's not like I haven't heard that before," said PJ, "Smelly Gabe is always telling my mom to get on her knees, not that I know what it means."

"Besides," said Percy, "he was asking me to stand guard outside the door while he changed."

**"Oh. Yeah." I tried not to sound aggravated about it. "Yeah, sure, man."**

**Tyson ducked inside the weight room. I stood guard outside the door while he changed. I felt kind of awkward doing this, but he asked me to most days. I think it's because he's completely hairy and he's got weird scars on his back that I've never had the courage to ask him about.**

"Well, you know now," said Annabeth

**Anyway, I'd learned the hard way that if people teased Tyson while he was dressing out, he'd get upset and start ripping the doors off lockers.**

"Sensitive isn't he?" asked Aphrodite

**When we got into the gym, Coach Nunley was sitting at his little desk reading**_**Sports Illustrated.**_**Nunley was about a million years old, with bifocals and no teeth and a greasy wave of gray hair. He reminded me of the Oracle at Camp Half-Blood—which was a shriveled-up mummy—except Coach Nunley moved a lot less and he never billowed green smoke.**

Those who saw the mummified Oracle shuddered

**Well, at least not that I'd observed.**

**Matt Sloan said, "Coach, can I be captain?"**

**"Eh?" Coach Nunley looked up from his magazine. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Mm-hmm."**

**Sloan grinned and took charge of the picking. He made me the other team's captain, but it didn't matter who I picked, because all the jocks and the popular kids moved over to Sloan's side. So did the big group of visitors.**

**On my side I had Tyson, Corey Bailer the computer geek, Raj Mandali the calculus whiz, and a half dozen other kids who always got harassed by Sloan and his gang. Normally I would've been okay with just Tyson—he was worth half a team all by himself—but the visitors on Sloan's team were almost as tall and strong-looking as Tyson, and there were six of them.**

**Matt Sloan spilled a cage full of balls in the middle of the gym.**

**"Scared," Tyson mumbled. "Smell funny."**

"Second clue," said Thalia

"I didn't know he was one at the time," said Percy

**I looked at him. "What smells funny?" Because I didn't figure he was talking about himself.**

**"Them." Tyson pointed at Sloan's new friends. "Smell funny."**

**The visitors were cracking their knuckles, eyeing us like it was slaughter time. I couldn't help wondering where they were from. Someplace where they fed kids raw meat and beat them with sticks.**

"If only," said Annabeth

**Sloan blew the coach's whistle and the game began. Sloan's team ran for the center line. On my side, Raj Mandali yelled something in Urdu, probably "I have to go potty!" and ran for the exit. Corey Bailer tried to crawl behind the wall mat and hide. The rest of my team did their best to cower in fear and not look like targets.**

"They're the ones who'll get aimed for first," said Thalia

**"Tyson," I said. "Let's g—"**

**A ball slammed into my gut. I sat down hard in the middle of the gym floor. The other team exploded in laughter.**

**My eyesight was fuzzy. I felt like I'd just gotten the Heimlich maneuver from a gorilla. I couldn't believe anybody could throw that hard.**

**Tyson yelled, "Percy, duck!"**

**I rolled as another dodgeball whistled past my ear at the speed of sound.**

_**Whooom!**_

**It hit the wall mat, and Corey Bailer yelped.**

**"Hey!" I yelled at Sloan's team. "You could kill somebody!"**

"I think that was what they were aiming for," said Thalia, as if it were obvious

**The visitor named Joe Bob grinned at me evilly. Somehow, he looked a lot bigger now ... even taller than Tyson. His biceps bulged beneath his T-shirt. "I hope so, Perseus Jackson! I hope so!"**

"How did they know you're real name?" asked Poseidon

"You'll see," said Percy

**The way he said my name sent a chill down my back. Nobody called me Perseus except those who knew my true identity. Friends ... and enemies.**

**What had Tyson said?**_**They smell funny.**_

**Monsters.**

"Wow," said Thalia, "he actually paid attention and figured something out. Congratulations!"

Percy simply pouted, and Annabeth noted that he seemed to be a little more disheartened after she said this.

**All around Matt Sloan, the visitors were growing in size. They were no longer kids. They were eight-foot-tall giants with wild eyes, pointy teeth, and hairy arms tattooed with snakes and hula women and Valentine hearts.**

**Matt Sloan dropped his ball. "Whoa! You're not from Detroit! Who …"**

"Of course not," said Annabeth

"They're from Canada," said AJ

**The other kids on his team started screaming and backing toward the exit, but the giant named Marrow Sucker threw a ball with deadly accuracy. It streaked past Raj Mandali just as he was about to leave and hit the door, slamming it shut like magic. Raj and some of the other kids banged on it desperately but it wouldn't budge.**

**"Let them go!" I yelled at the giants.**

**The one called Joe Bob growled at me. He had a tattoo on his biceps that said**_**: JB luvs Babycakes.**_**"And lose our tasty morsels? No, Son of the Sea God. We Laistrygonians aren't just playing for your death. We want lunch!"**

"Lastrygoinans?" asked Frank, "Didn't you say they were Canadians?"

"That's what Annabeth told me," said Percy, pointing at Annabeth, who rolled her eyes

**He waved his hand and a new batch of dodgeballs appeared on the center line—but these balls weren't made of red rubber. They were bronze, the size of cannon balls, perforated like riffle balls with fire bubbling out the holes. They must've been searing hot, but the giants picked them up with their bare hands.**

"Really explosive too," said Frank

"Wait," said Annabeth, "you came across Lastrygonians when you were with them?"

**"Coach!" I yelled.**

**Nunley looked up sleepily, but if he saw anything abnormal about the dodgeball game, he didn't let on. That's the problem with mortals. A magical force called the Mist obscures the true appearance of monsters and gods from their vision, so mortals tend to see only what they can understand. Maybe the coach saw a few eighth graders pounding the younger kids like usual. Maybe the other kids saw Matt Sloan's thugs getting ready to toss Molotov cock tails around. (It wouldn't have been the first time.) At any rate, I was pretty sure nobody else realized we were dealing with genuine man-eating bloodthirsty monsters.**

**"Yeah. Mm-hmm," Coach muttered. "Play nice."**

"Such a good teacher," noted Athena

**And he went back to his magazine.**

**The giant named Skull Eater threw his ball. I dove aside as the fiery bronze comet sailed past my shoulder.**

**"Corey!" I screamed.**

"What?" asked Annabeth, but Percy just shrugged

**Tyson pulled him out from behind the exercise mat just as the ball exploded against it, blasting the mat to smoking shreds.**

**"Run!" I told my teammates. "The other exit!"**

"They're not going to make it," said Thalia

**They ran for the locker room, but with another wave of Joe Bob's hand, that door also slammed shut.**

**"No one leaves unless you're out!" Joe Bob roared. "And you're not out until we eat you!"**

**He launched his own fireball. My teammates scattered as it blasted a crater in the gym floor.**

**I reached for Riptide, which I always kept in my pocket, but then I realized I was wearing gym shorts.**

Everyone face palmed

"I didn't have any pockets in my gym shorts," said Percy, "where was I going to keep it?"

**I**_**had**_**no pockets. Riptide was tucked in my jeans inside my gym locker. And the locker room door was sealed. I was completely defenseless.**

**Another fireball came streaking toward me. Tyson pushed me out of the way, but the explosion still blew me head over heels. I found myself sprawled on the gym floor, dazed from smoke, my tie-dyed T-shirt peppered with sizzling holes. Just across the center line, two hungry giants were glaring down at me.**

**"Flesh!" they bellowed. "Hero flesh for lunch!" They both took aim.**

**"Percy needs help!" Tyson yelled, and he jumped in front of me just as they threw their balls.**

**"Tyson!" I screamed, but it was too late.**

**Both balls slammed into him ... but no ... he'd caught them. Somehow Tyson, who was so clumsy he knocked over lab equipment and broke playground structures on a regular basis, had caught two fiery metal balls speeding toward him at a zillion miles an hour.**

**He sent them hurtling back toward their surprised owners, who screamed, "BAAAAAD!" as the bronze spheres exploded against their chests.**

"I love that kid," said Aphrodite

**The giants disintegrated in twin columns of flame—a sure sign they were monsters, all right. Monsters don't die. They just dissipate into smoke and dust, which saves heroes a lot of trouble cleaning up after a fight.**

"You got that right," said many of the present demigods

**"My brothers!" Joe Bob the Cannibal wailed. He flexed his muscles and his**_**Babycakes**_**tattoo rippled. "You will pay for their destruction!"**

**"Tyson!" I said. "Look out!"**

**Another comet hurtled toward us. Tyson just had time to swat it aside. It flew straight over Coach Nunley's head and landed in the bleachers with a huge KA-BOOM!**

**Kids were running around screaming, trying to avoid the sizzling craters in the floor. Others were banging on the door, calling for help. Sloan himself stood petrified in the middle of the court, watching in disbelief as balls of death flew around him.**

**Coach Nunley still wasn't seeing anything. He tapped his hearing aid like the explosions were giving him interference, but he kept his eyes on his magazine.**

**Surely the whole school could hear the noise. The head master, the police, somebody would come help us.**

"With your luck," said Thalia, "I doubt that any of them would help you."

**"Victory will be ours!" roared Joe Bob the Cannibal. "We will feast on your bones!"**

**I wanted to tell him he was taking the dodgeball game way too seriously, but before I could, he hefted another ball. The other three giants followed his lead.**

**I knew we were dead. Tyson couldn't deflect all those balls at once. His hands**_**had**_**to be seriously burned from blocking the first volley. Without my sword ...**

**I had a crazy idea.**

"It's going to work," said Nico

**I ran toward the locker room.**

**"Move!" I told my teammates. "Away from the door."**

**Explosions behind me. Tyson had batted two of the balls back toward their owners and blasted them to ashes.**

**That left two giants still standing.**

**A third ball hurtled straight at me. I forced myself to wait—one Mississippi, two Mississippi—then dove aside as the fiery sphere demolished the locker room door.**

"I see what you're doing," said Athena, "It was a crazy plan."

**Now, I figured that the built-up gas in most boys' locker rooms was enough to cause an explosion, so I wasn't surprised when the flaming dodgeball ignited a huge**_**WHOOOOOOOM!**_

**The wall blew apart. Locker doors, socks, athletic sup porters, and other various nasty personal belongings rained all over the gym.**

**I turned just in time to see Tyson punch Skull Eater in the face. The giant crumpled. But the last giant, Joe Bob, had wisely held on to his own ball, waiting for an opportunity. He threw just as Tyson was turning to face him.**

**"No!" I yelled.**

**The ball caught Tyson square in the chest. He slid the length of the court and slammed into the back wall, which cracked and partially crumbled on top of him, making a hole right onto Church Street. I didn't see how Tyson could still be alive, but he only looked dazed. The bronze ball was smoking at his feet. Tyson tried to pick it up, but he fell back, stunned, into a pile of cinder blocks.**

Many people present were slightly amazed.

**"Well!" Joe Bob gloated. "I'm the last one standing! I'll have enough meat to bring Babycakes a doggie bag!"**

"I think Babycakes can do longer without food," said Nico

**He picked up another ball and aimed it at Tyson.**

**"Stop!" I yelled. "It's me you want!"**

**The giant grinned. "You wish to die first, young hero?"**

"No," said many of those who cared about Percy, while Zeus and Hades, were hopeful that he did.

**I had to do something. Riptide had to be around here somewhere.**

**Then I spotted my jeans in a smoking heap of clothes right by the giant's feet. If I could only get there... I knew it was hopeless, but I charged.**

**The giant laughed. "My lunch approaches." He raised his arm to throw. I braced myself to die.**

Poseidon fell into a puddle.

**Suddenly the giant's body went rigid. His expression changed from gloating to surprise. Right where his belly button should've been, his T-shirt ripped open and he grew something like a horn—no, not a horn—the glowing tip of a blade.**

**The ball dropped out of his hand. The monster stared down at the knife that had just run him through from behind.**

"Knife?" asked pretty much everyone who didn't know the story and were paying attention.

**He muttered, "Ow," and burst into a cloud of green flame, which I figured was going to make Babycakes pretty upset.**

**Standing in the smoke was my friend Annabeth. Her face was grimy and scratched. She had a ragged backpack slung over her shoulder, her baseball cap tucked in her pocket, a bronze knife in her hand, and a wild look in her storm-gray eyes, like she'd just been chased a thousand miles by ghosts.**

"Just bad memories," said Annabeth

**Matt Sloan, who'd been standing there dumbfounded the whole time, finally came to his senses. He blinked at Annabeth, as if he dimly recognized her from my notebook picture. "That's the girl ... That's the girl—"**

"You bet it is," said Annabeth and AJ

**Annabeth punched him in the nose and knocked him flat.**

**"And**_**you,"**_**she told him, "lay off my friend."**

"Friend?" asked Percy, innocently

"Best friend and boyfriend," corrected Annabeth, rolling her eyes.

**The gym was in flames. Kids were still running around screaming. I heard sirens wailing and a garbled voice over the intercom. Through the glass windows of the exit doors, I could see the headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, wrestling with the lock, a crowd of teachers piling up behind him.**

**"Annabeth ..." I stammered. "How did you ... how long have you ..."**

**"Pretty much all morning." She sheathed her bronze knife. "I've been trying to find a good time to talk to you, but you were never alone."**

"So it was you who were peaking in through his window, right?" asked Hermes, causing Annabeth to blush as she nodded

**"The shadow I saw this morning—that was—" My face felt hot. "Oh my gods, you were looking in my bed room window?"**

"**There's no time to explain!" she snapped, though she looked a little red-faced herself. "I just didn't want to—"**

**"There!" a woman screamed. The doors burst open and the adults came pouring in.**

**"Meet me outside," Annabeth told me. "And him." She pointed to Tyson, who was still sitting dazed against the wall. Annabeth gave him a look of distaste that I didn't quite understand. "You'd better bring him."**

"Why are you so distasteful towards Tyson?" asked Hermes, "What has he ever done to you?"

"It's not him," said Annabeth, "it's just I had bad encounters with Cyclopes before him."

_**"What?"**_

**"No time!" she said. "Hurry!"**

**She put on her Yankees baseball cap, which was a magic gift from her mom, and instantly vanished.**

"Thanks for helping me," grumbled Percy, while Annabeth simply gave him a kiss.

**That left me standing alone in the middle of the burning gymnasium when the headmaster came charging in with half the faculty and a couple of police officers.**

**"Percy Jackson?" Mr. Bonsai said. "What ... how ..."**

"Seriously?" asked Hermes, Apollo, and Leo, "Mr. _Bonsai_?"

"Isn't that some sort of Japanese thing?" asked Nico

"Yeah, the Bonsai Tree," said Annabeth

**Over by the broken wall, Tyson groaned and stood up from the pile of cinder blocks. "Head hurts."**

"Wow," said Apollo, "tough kid."

**Matt Sloan was coming around, too. He focused on me with a look of terror. "Percy did it, Mr. Bonsai! He set the whole building on fire. Coach Nunley will tell you! He saw it all!"**

"Wow, you never get a break, do you?" asked Thalia, and Percy shook his head

**Coach Nunley had been dutifully reading his magazine, but just my luck—he chose that moment to look up when Sloan said his name. "Eh? Yeah. Mm-hmm."**

**The other adults turned toward me. I knew they would never believe me, even if I could tell them the truth.**

"You're right for once," said Hephaestus, "mortals tend to be more disbelieving when it comes to kids."

**I grabbed Riptide out of my ruined jeans, told Tyson, "Come on!" and jumped through the gaping hole in the side of the building.**

"All right," said Hera, "time for lunch."

"I'll be right back," said Annabeth, "I need to talk to Nico and Thalia."

"Sure," said Percy, giving her a peck before walking towards the kitchen with Hazel and Frank, with everyone else following behind.


	3. Chapter 3

With Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico

"What do you need Annabeth?" asked Nico

"Could you guys _not_ make fun of Percy?" asked Annabeth

"Aww, does Annabeth not want her boyfriend's feelings hurt?" cooed Thalia

"That's the thing," said Annabeth, "his feelings are getting hurt; he just doesn't know it yet."

"What do you mean?" asked Nico

"I don't know why I didn't notice this before," said Annabeth, "but whenever you guys make fun of him, he gets a little more disheartened. I think that he's subconsciously taking what we tell him about how he's not smart and all that stuff to heart. I think that because we make fun of his intelligence and obliviousness so much, he's starting to think he really is as stupid and oblivious as we make him out to be."

"Are you sure?" asked Nico, "I mean, wouldn't he know that we're making fun of him?"

"Nico, this is Percy we're talking about," said Thalia, "he's too slow to realize it until someone tells him about it."

"This is what I'm talking about guys," said Annabeth, "you've heard of Smelly Gabe. He's practically lived with that demon half his life, and who knows how many times that demon put Percy down, and now, the two people who he feels closest to, other than me and Grover, are putting him down. Wouldn't you feel like it's true if most of your life, you're told that you're an idiot or oblivious to you're surroundings?"

"I guess," said Nico

"I think I get it," sighed Thalia, "but I still don't get why we have to. I mean, it's so fun to mess around with Kelp Head."

"Doesn't matter," said Annabeth, shaking her head, "he doesn't realize that he's starting to believe he's as stupid as you two say he is, and you two continuing to make fun of him isn't helping. The only reason he hasn't done anything is because he's too nice to do it, and plus he doesn't want to get killed by your parents."

"I guess you're right," said Thalia, "Fine, I'll stop."

"Me too," said Nico

"But only because I don't want to see him get any dumber than he is," said Thalia

"Thanks guys," said Annabeth, smiling as she hugged them, before they set out to the kitchen

~~~~At the Kitchen~~~~

Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico entered the kitchen to find everyone sitting at the table except for Percy, PJ, and AJ.

"Where's Percy, PJ, and AJ?" asked Annabeth

"Percy said something about taking them on a ride on some Pegasi," said Hermes, as he picked up a big slice of cake, "now stop interrupting my eating, woman!"

Annabeth sighed, when Percy, PJ, and AJ came back in laughing.

Percy came near Annabeth and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Hey," said Percy, "you finished talking with Thalia and Nico?"

"Yeah," said Annabeth, "and they have something to tell you."

"Do it later," said Hera, "we need to get back to reading."

Everyone then got up and left, except for Percy, PJ, Annabeth, and AJ

"Fine by me," said Percy, "you hungry?"

"Yeah," said Annabeth, "you getting it or me?"

"I'll get it," said Percy, "and I'll meet you guys back in the throne room, except for PJ; I need your help."

"Oohkay," said PJ, as Annabeth and AJ left.


	4. Chapter 4

As everyone made their way back to the throne room, except for Percy and PJ, Luke couldn't help but notice that AC kept rubbing her stomach.

"Are you okay kiddo?" asked Luke

"I'm fine," said AJ, "just didn't get to eat since we left before anyone else came."

"Wait," said Luke, confused since he was the last one to arrive at the kitchen, except for Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico, "you mean you skipped lunch?"

"Yeah," said AJ, "but it was worth it. The Pegasi ride was super awesome, and the one I rode on was super funny. He had the best jokes."

"What do you mean 'he had the best jokes'?" asked Luke, "I thought only children of Poseidon could talk to horses and stuff."

"They are," said AJ, "I was just blessed by Poseidon to have _some_ control over the things PJ has. You know, like control over water, ability to breathe under water, ability to withstand any pressure under water, and ability to talk to horses, Pegasi, and zebras; except to a lesser degree."

"When did this happen?" asked Luke, slightly jealous

"It happened a few chapters back," said AJ, when Percy and PJ entered the throne room with two plates in each of their hands.

"Seaweed Brain, I only need one plate!" complained Annabeth

"Oh, you only get one plate," said Percy, "one is for me, one is for Lil' me, and the last one is for Lil' you."

"Are you telling me that you made them skip lunch?" asked Annabeth

"I didn't make them," said Percy, "I simply asked them if they wanted to ride a Pegasi after they finish their lunch, but they made me help them ride a Pegasus during lunch. So, being the good boyfriend I am, I made food for both of us, and helped Lil' me make food for himself and AJ."

"That's so sweet!" cooed Aphrodite, while Annabeth quickly gave Percy a kiss on the cheek for making food for both of them and helping his younger self make food for himself and AJ.

PJ, meanwhile, walked up to AJ and offered her her food: Mac and cheese.

"Hi, uh, Annabeth," said Percy as he stood in front of her, "I was, uh, told that you liked Mac and Cheese, so here you go."

He thrust the Mac and Cheese towards AJ, who blushed as she took the plate, muttering her thanks. She then noticed the color.

"Percy," said AJ, without looking up.

"Yeah," responded PJ, his mouth already filled with blue pancakes.

"Why is my Mac and Cheese blue?" asked AJ, looking up

PJ turned towards AJ, and their eyes met. "Um, well you see, uh, my mom makes all our food, uh, blue, and, uh, I guess I, uh, kind of forgot not to remove it. I'll go make you another one that's not blue if you want."

"No, it's fine," said AJ, smiling, as she took a bite, and then widened her eyes, "This is amazing!"

"I know, right?" asked PJ, "Blue food coloring makes anything better."

"Prove it," dared AJ

"Try my pancakes," offered PJ

AJ took a bite of PJ's pancakes, and looked like she was in heaven **(no pun intended)**. "That was the best pancake I've ever had! Did you make that?"

"Yeah, with a little help from Bigger me," said PJ

"That's amazing!" said AJ, causing PJ to blush "You've got to show me the recipe!"

"If you help me with some school work," said PJ, "I can't seem to get the hang of multiplying past 7."

"Deal," said AJ, and they both shook hands on it. However, as soon as they shook their hands, they quickly took back their hands, blushing and looking away from each other.

"So," said AJ, trying to lessen the awkwardness, "can I have some more pancakes?"

"Only if I can have some of your Mac and Cheese," said PJ

AJ didn't answer, instead opting to take a bite of his pancakes. PJ took that as a yes, and took a few pieces of Mac and Cheese. Soon, they were both eating blue Mac and Cheese and pancakes, obliviously unaware of everyone smiling at them, except for Poseidon and Aphrodite, who were beaming for different reasons. Poseidon because he was glad that they became friends, if not best friends, and Aphrodite because she saw this as one step closer to making them a couple.

Luke, however, was looking at Percy with a look of complete jealousy, though he knew better then to try and stop them, otherwise making himself look like a complete pedophile for admitting that he liked Annabeth, either of them, more than he should.

"I suggest we start the book," said Dionysus, completely oblivious to what was going on with the two Percys and Annabeths. "The sooner we finish these books, the sooner I don't have to dela with any more brats."

**We Hail the Taxi of Eternal Torment**

"That doesn't sound so good," said Poseidon

"Blame Annabeth," said Percy, pointing at Annabeth, who swatted his finger away.

**Annabeth was waiting for us in an alley down Church Street. She pulled Tyson and me off the sidewalk just as a fire truck screamed past, heading for Meriwether Prep.**

**"Where'd you find **_**him**_**?" she demanded, pointing at Tyson.**

"Wow," said Piper, "and I thought you liked Tyson."

"I do," said Annabeth, "it's just that I've had bad experiences with Tyson before I met the guy."

**Now, under different circumstances, I would've been really happy to see her. We'd made our peace last summer, despite the fact that her mom was Athena and didn't get along with my dad. I'd missed Annabeth probably more than I wanted to admit.**

**But I'd just been attacked by cannibal giants, Tyson had saved my life three or four times, and all Annabeth could do was glare at him like **_**he **_**was the problem.**

Annabeth and AJ both looked down in shame, while Percy and PJ squeezed their hands in reassurance that it doesn't affect their friendship and that they understand why. Well, for PJ, sort of, but he didn't want to push AJ if she didn't want to tell him.

**"He's my friend," I told her.**

**"Is he homeless?"**

**"What does that have to do with anything? He can hear you, you know. Why don't you ask him?"**

**She looked surprised. "He can talk?"**

"That's just cruel," said Jason

"That's just mean," said Leo

"I know," said Annabeth, "and I really feel sorry."

**"I talk," Tyson admitted. "You are pretty."**

"I agree," whispered PJ to AJ, making her blush and increasing Luke's jealousy

"I think you're beautiful," said Percy to _his_ Annabeth, causing _her_ to blush and squirm in her seat, aka Percy's lap.

**"Ah! Gross!" Annabeth stepped away from him.**

**I couldn't believe she was being so rude. I examined Tyson's hands, which I was sure must've been badly scorched by the flaming dodge balls, but they looked fine—grimy and scarred, with dirty fingernails the size of potato chips—but they always looked like that. "Tyson," I said in disbelief. "Your hands aren't even burned."**

**"Of course not," Annabeth muttered. "I'm surprised the Laistrygonians had the guts to attack you with him around."**

**Tyson seemed fascinated by Annabeth's blond hair. He tried to touch it, but she smacked his hand away.**

"Not one word," growled Annabeth, glaring at the demigods.

**"Annabeth," I said, "what are you talking about? Laistry-what?"**

**"Laistrygonians. The monsters in the gym. They're a race of giant cannibals who live in the far north. Odysseus ran into them once, but I've never seen them as far south as New York before."**

**"Laistry—I can't even say that. What would you call them in English?"**

**She thought about it for a moment. "Canadians," she decided.**

"So that's where you got it from," said Hazel

"I find offence to that seeing I'm part Canadian," said Frank

"Sorry," said Annabeth, "I was just looking for a term Percy would understand."

**"Now come on, we have to get out of here."**

**"The police'll be after me."**

**"That's the least of our problems," she said. "Have you been having the dreams?"**

"That's what it would say," said Apollo, "what I want to know is if you've been having _wet_ dreams about a special someone."

"No!" said Percy and PJ, both blushing along with Annabeth and AJ.

**"The dreams ... about Grover?"**

**Her face turned pale. "Grover? No, what about Grover?"**

**I told her my dream. "Why? What were **_**you **_**dreaming about?"**

"Percy," answered Aphrodite

**Her eyes looked stormy, like her mind was racing a million miles an hour.**

"How can you tell?" asked Thalia, "Even I can't tell."

"I know her better than you," teased Percy

**"Camp," she said at last. "Big trouble at camp."**

**"My mom was saying the same thing! But what **_**kind **_**of trouble?"**

**"I don't know exactly. Something's wrong. We have to get there right away. Monsters have been chasing me all the way from Virginia, trying to stop me. Have you had a lot of attacks?"**

**I shook my head. "None all year ... until today."**

**"None? But how ..." Her eyes drifted to Tyson. "Oh."**

"What do you mean, 'oh'?" asked Leo

**"What do you mean, 'oh'?"**

"I think like Percy, cool!" exclaimed Leo

**Tyson raised his hand like he was still in class. "Canadians in the gym called Percy something ... Son of the Sea God?"**

**Annabeth and I exchanged looks.**

**I didn't know how I could explain, but I figured Tyson deserved the truth after almost getting killed.**

"So you just hand this information out to everyone you know?" exclaimed Annabeth

"Okay, you know what," said Percy, "first of all, Tyson is a you-know-what, so he would have known anyways; second, Rachael could see the monsters, plus she's the Oracle, so she's going to have to know; and third of all, didn't you/your dad tell your step –parent about the Greek world?"

"Fine," said Annabeth, turning away from Percy with her arms crossed, "I'll submit, but only because you gave valid points."

"That's what I thought," said Percy wrapping his arms around her, while Luke was stunned that Annabeth, older or not, had just given up without even trying.

**"Big guy," I said, "you ever hear those old stories about the Greek gods? Like Zeus, Poseidon, Athena—"**

**"Yes," Tyson said.**

**"Well ... those gods are still alive. They kind of follow Western Civilization around, living in the strongest countries**_**, **_**so like now they're in the U.S. And sometimes they have kids with mortals. Kids called half-bloods."**

**"Yes," Tyson said, like he was still waiting for me to get to the point.**

**"Uh, well, Annabeth and I are half-bloods," I said. "We're like ... heroes-in-training. And whenever monsters pick up our scent, they attack us. That's what those giants were in the gym. Monsters."**

**"Yes."**

**I stared at him. He didn't seem surprised or confused by what I was telling him, which surprised and confused me.**

"A lot of things confuse you Kelp Head," said Thalia, while Annabeth glared at her, causing the daughter of Zeus to gulp

**"So ... you believe me?"**

**Tyson nodded. "But you are ... Son of the Sea God?"**

**"Yeah," I admitted. "My dad is Poseidon."**

**Tyson frowned. **_**Now**_ **he looked confused. "But then …"**

**A siren wailed. A police car raced past our alley.**

**"We don't have time for this," Annabeth said. "We'll talk in the taxi."**

**"A taxi all the way to camp?" I said. "You know how much money—"**

**"Trust me."**

**I hesitated. "What about Tyson?"**

**I imagined escorting my giant friend into Camp Half-Blood. If he freaked out on a regular playground with regular bullies, how would he act at a training camp for demigods? On the other hand, the cops would be looking for us.**

"You are a good friend Percy," said Hestia

"Thank you," said Percy

**"We can't just leave him," I decided. "He'll be in trouble, too." **_*****_

**"Yeah." Annabeth looked grim. "We definitely need to take him. Now come on."**

**I didn't like the way she said that, as if Tyson were a big disease we needed to get to the hospital, but I followed her down the alley. Together the three of us sneaked through the side streets of downtown while a huge column of smoke billowed up behind us from my school gymnasium.**

**"Here." Annabeth stopped us on the corner of Thomas and Trimble. She fished around in her backpack. "I hope I have one left."**

**She looked even worse than I'd realized at first.**

"Way to make a girl's day," said Annabeth

"You know I think you're beautiful no matter what you wear, or don't wear," said Percy

"Are you implying something?" asked Athena

"Other than the fact that she doesn't wear make-up or jewelry that much," said Percy, "I don't think so."

Athena simply blinked

**Her chin was cut. Twigs and grass were tangled in her ponytail, as if she'd slept several nights in the open. The slashes on the hems of her jeans looked suspiciously like claw marks.**

**"What are you looking for?" I asked.**

**All around us, sirens wailed. I figured it wouldn't be long before more cops cruised by, looking for juvenile delinquent gym-bombers. No doubt Matt Sloan had given them a statement by now. He'd probably twisted the story around so that Tyson and I were the bloodthirsty cannibals.**

**"Found one. Thank the gods." Annabeth pulled out a gold coin that I recognized as a drachma, the currency of Mount Olympus. It had Zeus's likeness stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other.**

**"Annabeth," I said, "New York taxi drivers won't take that."**

"Oh no," said Athena, "not _them_."

"I once rode with them when I needed a break," said Hermes, "can add that to the things I never want to experience again, along with Athena's (and her children, especially her daughters) rage, let alone any goddesses, but Athena's especially."

**"**_**Stêthi**_**," she shouted in Ancient Greek. **_**"Ô hárma diabolês!"**_

**As usual, the moment she spoke in the language of Olympus, I somehow understood it. She'd said: **_**Stop, Chariot of Damnation!**_

**That didn't exactly make me feel real excited about whatever her plan was.**

"It wouldn't make us feel excited either," said Thalia, Nico, Jason, and Piper, while Leo was being Leo and asking if he could take a ride on it.

**She threw her coin into the street, but instead of clattering on the asphalt, the drachma sank right through and disappeared.**

**For a moment, nothing happened.**

**Then, just where the coin had fallen, the asphalt darkened. It melted into a rectangular pool about the size of a parking space—bubbling red liquid like blood. Then a car erupted from the ooze.**

"That sounds terrific," said Piper sarcasitcally

**It was a taxi, all right, but unlike every other taxi in New York, it wasn't yellow. It was smoky gray. I mean it looked like it was **_**woven **_**out of smoke, like you could walk right through it. There were words printed on the door—something like GYAR SSIRES—but my dyslexia made it hard for me to decipher what it said.**

**The passenger window rolled down, and an old woman stuck her head out. She had a mop of grizzled hair covering her eyes, and she spoke in a weird mumbling way, like she'd just had a shot of Novocain. **

**"Passage? Passage?"**

**"Three to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said. She opened the cab's back door and waved at me to get in, like this was all completely normal.**

"I was trying my best not to freak out, honestly," said Annabeth

"You ever ride in their taxi before?" asked Athena

"Before that," said Annabeth, "no, I don't think so."

AJ was too busy still eating the blue pancakes and Mac n Cheese with PJ, which somehow still hadn't finished, to back her older self up.

**"Ach!" the old woman screeched. "We don't take **_**his **_**kind!"**

**She pointed a bony finger at Tyson.**

**What was it? Pick-on-Big-and-Ugly-Kids Day?**

"You wish it was," snorted Nico, who then flinched under the glare of Percy and Frank.

**"Extra pay," Annabeth promised. "Three more drachma on arrival."**

**"Done!" the woman screamed.**

**Reluctantly I got in the cab. Tyson squeezed in the middle. Annabeth crawled in last.**

**The interior was also smoky gray, but it felt solid enough. The seat was cracked and lumpy—no different than most taxis. There was no Plexiglas screen separating us from the old lady driving ... Wait a minute. There wasn't just one old lady. There were three, all crammed in the front seat, each with stringy hair covering her eyes, bony hands, and a charcoal-colored sackcloth dress.**

**The one driving said, "Long Island! Out-of-metro fare bonus! Ha!"**

**She floored the accelerator, and my head slammed against the backrest. A prerecorded voice came on over the speaker: **_**Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!**_

"I miss her," said Zeus, "too bad she had to fade."

**I looked down and found a large black chain instead of a seat belt. I decided I wasn't that desperate ... yet.**

"Yet?" squeaked Poseidon

**The cab sped around the corner of West Broadway, and the gray lady sitting in the middle screeched, "Look out! Go left!"**

**"Well, **_**if **_**you'd give me the eye, Tempest, I could **_**see **_**that!" the driver complained.**

**Wait a minute. **_**Give her the eye?**_

**I didn't have time to ask questions because the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming **_**delivery **_**truck, ran over the curb with a jaw-rattling **_**thump, **_**and flew into the next block.**

**"Wasp!" the third lady said to the driver. "Give me the girl's coin! I want to bite it."**

**"You bit it last time, Anger!" said the driver, whose name must've been Wasp. "It's my turn!"**

**"Is not!" yelled the one called Anger.**

**The middle one, Tempest, screamed, "Red light!"**

**"Brake!" yelled Anger.**

**Instead, Wasp floored the accelerator and rode up on the curb, screeching around another corner, and knocking over a newspaper box. She left my stomach somewhere back on Broome Street.**

**"Excuse me," I said. "But ... can you see?"**

**"No!" screamed Wasp from behind the wheel.**

**"No!" screamed Tempest from the middle.**

**"Of course!" screamed Anger by the shotgun window.**

**I looked at Annabeth. "They're blind?"**

**"Not completely," Annabeth said. "They have an eye."**

**"One eye?"**

**"Yeah."**

"Each?" asked Thalia, but Annabeth, Percy, and Athena shook their heads.

**"Each?"**

**"No. One eye total."**

**Next to me, Tyson groaned and grabbed the seat. "Not feeling so good."**

**"Oh, man," I said, because I'd seen Tyson get carsick on school field trips and it was **_**not **_**something you wanted to be within fifty feet of. "Hang in there, big guy. Anybody got a garbage bag or something?"**

**The three gray ladies were too busy squabbling to pay me any attention. I looked over at Annabeth, who was hanging on for dear life, and I gave her a **_**why-did-you-do-this-to-me **_**look.**

**"Hey," she said, "Gray Sisters Taxi is the fastest way to camp."**

**"Then why didn't you take it from Virginia?"**

**"That's outside their service area," she said, like that should be obvious. "They only serve Greater New York and surrounding communities."**

"Too bad," said Leo, "I could have ridden it all the way throughout our quest."

**"We've had famous people in this cab!" Anger exclaimed. "Jason! You remember him?"**

**"Don't remind me!" Wasp wailed. "And we didn't have a cab back then, you old bat. That was three thousand years ago!"**

**"Give me the tooth!" Anger tried to grab at Wasp's mouth, but Wasp swatted her hand away.**

**"Only if Tempest gives me the eye!"**

**"No!" Tempest screeched. "You had it yesterday!"**

**"But I'm driving, you old hag!"**

**"Excuses! Turn! That was your turn!"**

"Wow, so efficient," said Piper, sarcastically

**Wasp swerved hard onto Delancey Street, squishing me between Tyson and the door. She punched the gas and we shot up the Williamsburg Bridge at seventy miles an hour.**

**The three sisters were fighting for real now, slapping each other as Anger tried to grab at Wasp's face and Wasp tried to grab at Tempest's. With their hair flying and their mouths open, screaming at each other, I realized that none of the sisters had any teeth except for Wasp, who had one mossy yellow incisor. Instead of eyes, they just had closed, sunken eyelids, except for Anger, who had one bloodshot green eye that stared at everything hungrily, as if it couldn't get enough of anything it saw.**

**Finally Anger, who had the advantage of sight, managed to yank the tooth out of her sister Wasp's mouth. This made Wasp so mad she swerved toward the edge of the Williamsburg Bridge, yelling, "'Ivit back! 'Ivit back!"**

**Tyson groaned and clutched his stomach.**

**"Uh, if anybody's interested," I said, "We're going to die!"**

**"Don't worry," Annabeth told me, sounding pretty worried. "The Gray Sisters know what they're doing. They're really very wise."**

"Really?" asked Thalia, "Doesn't seem like it."

"Trust me," said Annabeth, "they're wise when they want to be."

**This was coming from the daughter of Athena, but I wasn't exactly reassured. **

**We were skimming along the edge of a bridge a hundred and thirty feet above the East River.**

**"Yes, wise!" Anger grinned in the rearview mirror, showing off her newly acquired tooth. "We know things!"**

**"Every street in Manhattan!" Wasp bragged, still hitting her sister. "The capital of Nepal!"**

**"The location you seek!" Tempest added.**

"What location?" asked the majority of those who didn't know already.

**Immediately her sisters pummeled her from either side, screaming, "Be quiet! Be quiet! He didn't even ask yet!"**

**"What?" I said. "What location? I'm not seeking any—"**

**"Nothing!" Tempest said. "You're right, boy. It's nothing!"**

**"Tell me."**

**"No!" they all screamed.**

**"The last time we told, it was horrible!" Tempest said.**

**"Eye tossed in a lake!" Anger agreed.**

**"Years to find it again!" Wasp moaned. "And speaking of that—give it back!"**

**"No!" yelled Anger.**

**"Eye!" Wasp yelled. "Gimme!"**

**She whacked her sister Anger on the back. There was a sickening **_**pop **_**and something flew out of Anger's face. Anger fumbled for it, trying to catch it, but she only managed to bat it with the back of her hand. The slimy green orb sailed over her shoulder, into the backseat, and straight into my lap.**

Most of the girls shuddered.

**I jumped so hard, my head hit the ceiling and the eyeball rolled away.**

**"I can't see!" all three sisters yelled.**

**"Give me the eye!" Wasp wailed.**

**"Give her the eye!" Annabeth screamed.**

**"I don't have it!" I said.**

**"There, by your foot," Annabeth said. "Don't step on it! Get it!"**

**"I'm not picking that up!"**

**The taxi slammed against the guardrail and skidded along with a horrible grinding noise. The whole car shuddered, billowing gray smoke as if it were about to dissolve from the strain.**

"Please tell me it doesn't burn up by the time you get there," said Poseidon

"Don't worry, it doesn't," said Percy

**"Going to be sick!" Tyson warned.**

**"Annabeth," I yelled, "let Tyson use your backpack!"**

**"Are you crazy? Get the eye!"**

**Wasp yanked the wheel, and the taxi swerved away from the rail. We hurtled down the bridge toward Brooklyn, going faster than any human taxi. The Gray Sisters screeched and pummeled each other and cried out for their eye.**

**At last I steeled my nerves. I ripped off a chunk of my tie-dyed T-shirt, which was already falling apart from all the burn marks, and used it to pick the eyeball off the floor.**

**"Nice boy!" Anger cried, as if she somehow knew I had her missing peeper. "Give it back!"**

**"Not until you explain," I told her. "What were you talking about, the location I seek?"**

"Good strategy," said Athena, "Get the location before handing their ball back."

**"No time!" Tempest cried. "Accelerating!"**

**I** **looked out the window. Sure enough, trees and cars and whole neighborhoods were now zipping by in a gray blur. We were already out of Brooklyn, heading through the middle of Long Island.**

**"Percy," Annabeth warned, "they can't find our destination without the eye. We'll just keep accelerating until we break into a million pieces."**

**"First they have to tell me," I said. "Or I'll open the window and throw the eye into oncoming traffic."**

**"No!" the Gray Sisters wailed. "Too dangerous!"**

**"I'm rolling down the window."**

**"Wait!" the Gray Sisters screamed. "30, 31, 75, 12!"**

"What kind of information are those?" asked Aphrodite, "At least give something that makes sense."

"Even I don't know," said Athena

"I do," said Poseidon, Percy, and Annabeth

"They're coordinates," said Percy

"30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west," said PJ quickly

**They belted it out like a quarterback calling a play.**

"You have the weirdest comparisons," commented Nico

**"What do you mean?" I said. "That makes no sense!"**

**"30, 31, 75, 12!" Anger wailed. "That's all we can tell you. Now give us the eye! Almost to camp!"**

"Give it to them quick," said Athena

"Please Percy," said Poseidon, "I don't want two of my own kids dying before they even reach camp, despite it being either their first or second time."

**We were off the highway now, zipping through the countryside of northern Long Island. I could see Half-Blood Hill ahead of us, with its giant pine tree at the crest—Thalia's tree, which contained the life force or a fallen hero.**

"Thanks for telling me," said Thalia, glumly. Percy patted her on the back in apology, but she waved it off.

**"Percy!" Annabeth said more urgently. "Give them the eye now!"**

**I decided not to argue. I threw the eye into Wasp's lap.**

**The old lady snatched it up, pushed it into her eye socket like somebody putting in a contact lens, and blinked. "Whoa!"**

"Serously?" asked Leo, "they're almost at camp and they say Whoa!"

**She slammed on the brakes. The taxi spun four or five times in a cloud of smoke and squealed to a halt in the middle of the farm road at the base of Half-Blood Hill.**

**Tyson let loose a huge belch. "Better now."**

"We all were," said Annabeth

"I wasn't," said Grover

"Well, better than Grover," amended Percy

**"All right," I told the Gray Sisters. "Now tell me what those numbers mean."**

**"No time!" Annabeth opened her door. "We have to get out **_**now."**_

"Why now?" asked Leo

**I was about to ask why, when I looked up at Half-Blood Hill and understood.**

"Understood what?" asked Thalia

**At the crest of the hill was a group of campers. And they were under attack**

"Camp's under attack?" asked AJ, "What about the boundaries?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Yeah, see," said Percy, "the boundaries weren't working that well at the time."

"I couldn't help it," said Thalia

"I didn't say it was your fault," said Percy, "most of us already know whose fault it was."

At this, he looked at Luke, who simply shrugged and said, "I'm not sure if I did it yet or not. I'm before all this, remember?"

"What do you mean 'you couldn't help it' Thalia?" asked Frank

"Oh, I was a tree for a while," said Thalia, getting confused looks from Hazel and Frank. Thalia mouthed 'Tell you later' to the two, who got the message and returned their attention to the book.

**Tyson Plays with Fire**

"Is Tyson a son of Hephaestus too?" asked Leo

"No you idiot!" said Piper, "he's the cyclopes that sometimes stays in Percy's cabin. Remember when we met him?"

"Oh, that's Tyson?" asked Leo, "I like him."

Leo got many confused stares at him.

**Mythologically speaking, if there's anything I hate worse than trios of old ladies, it's bulls.**

"I've had many bad encounters with bulls," said Percy, "especially in Spain."

"Spain?" asked Thalia

"Yeah, Spain," said PJ, "Mom and I went when we were five."

"Almost got ran over by a baby bull," said Percy

"How do I not know of this?" asked Thalia

"Because you were on the Hunt so much, I couldn't tell you?" asked Percy, causing Thalia to huff.

**Last summer, I fought the Minotaur on top of Half-Blood Hill. This time what I saw up there was even worse: two bulls. And not just regular bulls—bronze ones the size of elephants. And even**_**that **_**wasn't bad enough. Naturally they had to breathe fire, too.**

"Of course they did," said Thalia, rolling her eyes

**As soon as we exited the taxi, the Gray Sisters peeled out, heading back to New York, where life was safer. They didn't even wait for their extra three-drachma payment.**

"Lucky break," said Leo

**They just left us on the side of the road, Annabeth with nothing but her backpack and knife, Tyson and me still in our burned-up tie-dyed gym clothes.**

**"Oh, man," said Annabeth, looking at the battle raging on the hill.**

**What worried me most weren't the bulls themselves. Or the ten heroes in full battle armor who were getting their bronze-plated booties whooped. What worried me was that the bulls were ranging all over the hill, even around the back side of the pine tree.**

"So, that's what you meant when you said the boundaries weren't working," said Hazel

"How did you fix it?" asked AJ

**That shouldn't have been possible. The camp's magic boundaries didn't allow monsters to cross past Thalia's tree. But the metal bulls were doing it anyway.**

**One of the heroes shouted, "Border patrol, to me!" A girl's voice—gruff and familiar.**

**Border patrol? I thought. The camp didn't**_**have**___**a border patrol.**

**"It's Clarisse," Annabeth said. "Come on, we have to help her."**

**Normally, rushing to Clarisse's aid would not have been high on my "to do" list. She was one of the biggest bullies at camp. The first time we'd met she tried to introduce my head to a toilet. She was also a daughter of Ares, and I'd had a very serious disagreement with her father last summer, so now the god of war and all his children basically hated my guts.**

"Don't worry kid," said Hephaestus, "he hates everyone's guts equally if they aren't his kids or Aphrodite."

"That's not right," said Aphrodite, "you should love everyone equally, or at least _not_ hate everyone equally, like Hephaestus here."

**Still, she**_**was**___**in trouble. Her fellow warriors were scattering, running in panic as the bulls charged. The grass was burning in huge swathes around the pine tree. One hero screamed and waved his arms as he ran in circles, the horse hair plume on his helmet blazing like a fiery Mohawk.**

"Did he realize that he could have taken his helmet off?" asked PJ

"He was a son of Ares," said Percy, "what do you expect?"

Everyone laughed, while Ares huffed, clearly annoyed that he couldn't kill Percy without incurring the wrath of his father.

**Clarisse's own armor was charred. She was fighting with a broken spear shaft, the** **other end embedded uselessly in the metal joint of one bull's shoulder.**

**I uncapped my ballpoint pen. It shimmered, growing longer and heavier until I held the bronze sword Anaklusmos in my hands. "Tyson, stay here. I don't want you taking any more chances."**

**"No!" Annabeth said. "We need him."**

**I stared at her. "He's mortal. He got lucky with the dodge balls but he can't—"**

"How could you not realize he wasn't mortal?" asked Piper

"Hey," said Percy huffed, "I didn't get the same initiation as everyone else, so I was left behind. It wasn't my fault Chiron decided not to show me the video until _after_ Annabeth and I got together."

"Don't worry," said Annabeth, kissing him on the cheek (much to the displeasure of Luke), "you're not clueless now."

**"Percy, do you know what those are up there? The Colchis bulls, made by Hephaestus himself. We can't fight them without Medea's Sunscreen SPF 50,000. We'll get burned to a crisp."**

**"Medea's**_**what?"**_

"Why would you focus on _that_?" asked Thalia

"I got everything else except that," shrugged Percy

**Annabeth rummaged through her backpack and cursed. "I had a jar of tropical coconut scent sitting on my night-stand at home. Why didn't I bring it?"**

"GASP!" said Leo, "A Daughter of Athena not prepared? It's Armageddon!"

**I'd learned a long time ago not to question Annabeth too much. It just made me more confused. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm**_**not**___**going to let Tyson get fried."**

"There's his loyalty kicking in," said Annabeth, causing both Percy's to blush, "always putting others in front of himself, mostly."

"Mostly?" asked Athena

"If you make me _really_ hate you," said Percy, "then I won't even bother attempting to help you unless there's something I care about at stake."

PJ was nodding as Percy said this.

**"Percy—"**

**"Tyson, stay back." I raised my sword. "I'm going in."**

**Tyson tried to protest, but I was already running up the hill toward Clarisse, who was yelling at her patrol, trying to get them into phalanx formation. It was a good idea. The few who were listening lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, locking their shields to form an ox-hide—and-bronze wall, their spears bristling over the top like porcupine quills.**

"You have the weirdest thoughts," said Thalia

**Unfortunately, Clarisse could only muster six campers. The other four were still running around with their helmets on fire.**

Insults towards the intelligence of said four Ares campers murmured around the throne room.

**Annabeth ran toward them, trying to help. She taunted one of the bulls into chasing her, then turned invisible, completely confusing the monster. The other bull charged Clarisse's line.**

**I was halfway up the hill—not close enough to help. Clarisse hadn't even seen me yet.**

**The bull moved deadly fast for something so big. Its metal hide gleamed in the sun. It had fist-sized rubies for eyes, and horns of polished silver. When it opened its hinged mouth, a column of white-hot flame blasted out.**

**"Hold the line!" Clarisse ordered her warriors.**

**Whatever else you could say about Clarisse, she was brave.**

"That is true," said AJ

**She was a big girl with cruel eyes like her father's. She looked like she was born to wear Greek battle armor, but I didn't see how even she could stand against that bull's charge.**

**Unfortunately, at that moment, the other bull lost interest in finding Annabeth. It turned, wheeling around behind Clarisse on her unprotected side.**

**"Behind you!" I yelled. "Look out!"**

**I shouldn't have said anything, because all I did was startle her. Bull Number One crashed into her shield, and the phalanx broke. Clarisse went flying backward and landed in a smoldering patch of grass. The bull charged past her, but not before blasting the other heroes with its fiery breath. Their shields melted right off their arms. They dropped their weapons and ran as Bull Number Two closed in on Clarisse for the kill.**

"You better help her punk!" snarled Ares

"Oh, so now you're being nice to him," said Aphrodite, "what happened to being nice when _you_ were on the wrong side and were beaten by him, hmm?"

"Nice?" asked Piper, "How in the world is that nice?"

"That's as nice as Ares'll get Piper," said Annabeth

"Why couldn't I have been a child of Apollo?" asked Frank, "Why him?"

Hazel simply squeezed his hand in reassurance, though Hazel wasn't sure whether the Valdez in the room was the same Valdez she knew before.

**I lunged forward and grabbed Clarisse by the straps of her armor. I dragged her out of the way just as Bull Number Two freight-trained past. I gave it a good swipe with Riptide and cut a huge gash in its flank, but the monster just creaked and groaned and kept on going.**

**It hadn't touched me, but I could feel the heat of its metal skin. Its body temperature could've microwaved a frozen burrito.**

Everyone laughed

**"Let me go!" Clarisse pummeled my hand. "Percy, curse you!"**

"Sorry, you're chance is gone," said Percy, "your father already got to me first."

**I dropped her in a heap next to the pine tree and turned to face the bulls. We were on the inside slope of the hill now, the valley of Camp Half-Blood directly below us—the cabins, the training facilities, the Big House—all of it at risk if these bulls got past us.**

**Annabeth shouted orders to the other heroes, telling them to spread out and keep the bulls distracted.**

**Bull Number One ran a wide arc, making its way back toward me. As it passed the middle of the hill, where the invisible boundary line should've kept it out, it slowed down a little, as if it were struggling against a strong wind; but then it broke through and kept coming. Bull Number Two turned to face me, fire sputtering from the gash I'd cut in its side. I couldn't tell if it felt any pain, but its ruby eyes seemed to glare at me like I'd just made things personal.**

"They make everything personal," said Hephaestus

**I couldn't fight both bulls at the same time. I'd have to take down Bull Number Two first, cut its head off before Bull Number One charged back into range. My arms already felt tired. I realized how long it had been since I'd worked out with Riptide, how out of practice I was.**

"Oh boy," groaned Poseidon

**I lunged but Bull Number Two blew flames at me. I rolled aside as the air turned to pure heat. All the oxygen was sucked out of my lungs. My foot caught on something—a tree root, maybe—and pain shot up my ankle. Still, I managed to slash with my sword and lop off part of the monster's snout. It galloped away, wild and disoriented. But before I could feel too good about that, I tried to stand, and my left leg buckled underneath me. My ankle was sprained, maybe broken.**

"Even better," said Thalia sarcastically

**Bull Number One charged straight toward me. No way could I crawl out of its path.**

**Annabeth shouted: "Tyson, help him!"**

**Somewhere near, toward the crest of the hill, Tyson wailed, "Can't—get—through!"**

**"I, Annabeth Chase, give you permission to enter camp!"**

**Thunder shook the hillside. Suddenly Tyson was there, barreling toward me, yelling:**

**"Percy needs help!"**

Everyone laughed at this as well, relieving some of the tension in the room

**Before I could tell him no, he dove between me and the bull just as it unleashed a nuclear firestorm.**

**"Tyson!" I yelled.**

**The blast swirled around him like a red tornado. I could only see the black silhouette of his body. I knew with horrible certainty that my friend had just been turned into a column of ashes.**

"How wrong you are," said Thalia, only to be on the receiving end of Annabeth's glare. Thalia then smiled at her sheepishly

**But when the fire died, Tyson was still standing there, completely unharmed. Not even his grungy clothes were scorched. The bull must've been as surprised as I was, because before it could unleash a second blast, Tyson balled his fists and slammed them into the bull's face. "BAD COW!"**

"Yes, very bad cow," said Annabeth, "but it's patron is even worse."

"I agree," said Hephaestus, and Percy, causing Hera to grumble

**His fists made a crater where the bronze bull's snout used to be. Two small columns of flame shot out of its ears. Tyson hit it again, and the bronze crumpled under his hands like aluminum foil. The bull's face now looked like a sock puppet pulled inside out.**

**"Down!" Tyson yelled.**

**The bull staggered and fell on its back. Its legs moved feebly in the air, steam coming out of its ruined head in odd places.**

**Annabeth ran over to check on me.**

"Of course you would check on Percy first," said Aphrodite, causing both Annabeths and both Percys to blush

**My ankle felt like it was filled with acid, but she gave me some Olympian nectar to drink from her canteen, and I immediately started to feel better. There was a burning smell that I later learned was me. The hair on my arms had been completely singed off.**

**"The other bull?" I asked.**

**Annabeth pointed down the hill. Clarisse had taken care of Bad Cow Number Two.**

**She'd impaled it through the back leg with a celestial bronze spear. Now, with its snout half gone and a huge gash in its side, it was trying to run in slow motion, going in circles like some kind of merry-go-round animal.**

"Again, weirdest thoughts ever," repeated Thalia

**Clarisse pulled off her helmet and marched toward us. A strand of her stringy brown hair was smoldering, but she didn't seem to notice. "You—ruin—everything!" she yelled at me. "I had it under control!"**

"A typical Ares camper greeting," said Leo cheerily, causing people to look at him wierdly

**I was too stunned to answer. Annabeth grumbled, "Good to see you too, Clarisse."**

**"Argh!" Clarisse screamed. "Don't ever, EVER try saving me again!"**

**"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "you've got wounded campers."**

**That sobered her up. Even Clarisse cared about the soldiers under her command.**

"She has a heart?" asked Leo, fainting surprise

"You should have seen her when her boyfriend was insane," said Percy

**"I'll be back," she growled, then trudged off to assess the damage.**

**I stared at Tyson. "You didn't die."**

**Tyson looked down like he was embarrassed. "I am sorry. Came to help. Disobeyed you."**

**"My fault," Annabeth said. "I had no choice. I had to let Tyson cross the boundary line to save you. Otherwise, you would've died."**

_**"Let**___**him cross the boundary line?'" I asked. "But—"**

**"Percy," she said, "have you ever looked at Tyson closely? I mean ... in the face. Ignore the Mist, and**_**really**___**look at him."**

**The Mist makes humans see only what their brains can process ... I knew it could fool demigods too, but...**

"Like it did to us," said Jason, who got a weird look on Frank and Hazel's faces, "oh, um, you see the Mist made me and Piper think we were dating and that me and Leo were best friends. It also created about two or three months of false memories for us."

**I looked Tyson in the face. It wasn't easy. I'd always had trouble looking directly at him, though I'd never quite understood why. I'd thought it was just because he always had peanut butter in his crooked teeth.**

"Tyson always has peanut butter in his teeth," said Nico

**I forced myself to focus at his big lumpy nose, then a little higher at his eyes.**

**No, not**_**eyes.**_

_**One**___**eye. One large, calf-brown eye, right in the middle of his forehead, with thick lashes and big tears trickling down his cheeks on either side.**

**"Tyson," I stammered. "You're a ..."**

**"Cyclops," Annabeth offered. "A baby, by the looks of him. Probably why he couldn't get past the boundary line as easily as the bulls. Tyson's one of the homeless orphans."**

**"One of the what?"**

**"They're in almost all the big cities," Annabeth said distastefully. "They're ...**_**mistakes,**___**Percy.**

Poseidon winced, while Annabeth gave him a sheepish smile, "Sorry, Lord Poseidon."

"No worries," said Poseidon, "it's my fault anyways."

**Children of nature spirits and gods ... Well, one god in particular, usually ... and they don't always come out right. No one wants them. They get tossed aside. They grow up wild on the streets. I don't know how this one found you, but he obviously likes you. We should take him to Chiron, let him decide what to do."**

**"But the fire. How—"**

**"He's a Cyclops." Annabeth paused, as if she were remembering something unpleasant.**

"I was," said Annabeth, while AJ and Luke said, "Probably."

**"They work the forges of the gods. They**_**have**___**to be immune to fire. That's what I was trying to tell you."**

**I was completely shocked. How had I never realized what Tyson was?**

Nico and Thalia opened their mouths to say something, but shut it under Annabeth's glare. None of this was seen by anyone else.

**But I didn't have much time to think about it just then. The whole side of the hill was burning. Wounded heroes needed attention. And there were still two banged-up bronze bulls to dispose of, which I didn't figure would fit in our normal recycling bins.**

"Where did you take it?" asked Piper

"I think we gave it to the Hepheastus cabin," said Annabeth

"Yeah, we did," said Percy, "they made moulds out of them."

**Clarisse came back over and wiped the soot off her forehead. "Jackson, if you can stand, get up. We need to carry the wounded back to the Big House, let Tantalus know what's happened."**

**"Tantalus?" I asked.**

"Who?" asked Luke, AJ, Leo, Piper, Frank, Jason, and Hazel, while everyone else, except for Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico, was wondering why Tantalus was there

**"The activities director," Clarisse said impatiently.**

"I thought Chiron was the activities director," said Piper

"Chiron?" asked Hazel

"He's a centaur," said Annabeth, "and he is the activities director; he just wasn't that summer because of him."

Annabeth pointed at Luke, causing everyone to look at him. He moved uncomfortably under the attention.

"What did I do?" asked Luke, remembering why he was being looked at like a zoo animal.

"You'll see," said Percy, sourly

**"Chiron is the activities director. And where's Argus? He's head of security. He should be here."**

**Clarisse made a sour face. "Argus got fired. You two have been gone too long. Things are changing."**

"Things are changing in our time too," said Piper

**"But Chiron ... He's trained kids to fight monsters for over three thousand years. He can't just be**_**gone.**___**What happened?"**

**"**_**That**___**happened," Clarisse snapped.**

**She pointed to Thalia's tree.**

**Every camper knew the story behind the tree. Six years ago, Grover, Annabeth, and two other demigods named Thalia and Luke had come to Camp Half-Blood chased by an army of monsters. When they got cornered on top of this hill, Thalia, a daughter of Zeus, had made her last stand here to give her friends time to reach safety. As she was dying, her father, Zeus, took pity on her and changed her into a pine tree. Her spirit had reinforced the magic borders of the camp, protecting it from monsters. The pine had been here ever since, strong and healthy.**

"We're sorry," said Hazel, with Frank nodding

"It's fine," said Thalia

**But now, its needles were yellow. A huge pile of dead ones littered the base of the tree. In the center of the trunk, three feet from the ground, was a puncture mark the size of a bullet hole, oozing green sap.**

**A sliver of ice ran through my chest. Now I understood why the camp was in danger. The magical borders were failing because Thalia's tree was dying.**

**Someone had poisoned it.**

"You guys think _I_ poisoned Thalia?" asked Luke

"We don't think," said Percy, "we know."

"I doubt that I would poison Thalia," said Luke, "I mean, we were practically best friends! Why would I poison her? Isn't it more likely that some other demigod Kronos had brought over to our side was sent to poison her?"

"No," said Percy, "because Kronos probably would have gotten a demigod from off the street to join him and they might not have known which tree he was talking about, so it makes much more sense for you to poison her, _Luke_."

Luke opened his mouth to say something else, but was broken off by Hera, who said, "Why don't we continue this somewhere else, hmm? Preferably outside the throne room, so that the air doesn't get fouled up by anything that you filthy little _demigods_ might say. Why not take a 15 minute break while we're at it, hmm?"

The demigods glared at her, as well as the gods who had kids in the room, before they exited the room.


	6. Chapter 6

The demigods exited the throne room and made their way to their bedrooms, well most of them were. Luke was just following AJ at a distance close enough that showed that he cared about her but far enough so it doesn't scream pedophilia. Everyone made their way to their rooms, except for Annabeth, AJ, and Luke, all of whom went to the Poseidon rooms.

"Luke," said Annabeth, as she turned around, noticing him for the first time since she was engrossed in making sure Percy calms down a little all the way from the throne room, "why are you following us?"

"I, uh," said Luke, "I don't know where my room is, and I saw you guys come in here and thought that I could come here?"

"Um, see the thing is Luke," said Annabeth, "this is Poseidon's spare bedroom. Hermes is down the hall a little bit."

"Then why are you here?" asked Luke, clearly confused. PJ and AJ were on one of the beds, with AJ helping PJ with his schoolwork.

"Um, I kind of stay want to be with Percy," said Annabeth, "since he was missing for about 8 months in my time, and Little me is tutoring Little Percy in his school work."

"Oh, okay," said Luke, "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Luke, we're not going anywhere," said Annabeth, rolling her eyes, "we still have about 6 books left, let alone any extra books Apollo and the Fates decide to send."

"Uh, right," said Luke, "bye."

Before he left, he swore he could hear Percy mumble to Annabeth, "I think he's catching his father's stupidity."

What made it worse was that Annabeth giggled at that, which broke Luke's heart a bit, knowing that the girl she loved (even if she's about 5 years younger and he could get arrested for pedophilia, even though the gods do the same thing, but they're gods. They have their own way of getting out of trouble) had found someone to love just as much as he (both Percy and Luke) loved her. One thing he wasn't sure of, though, was whether who loved Annabeth more: him, or Percy? Luke thought that he was the right answer, since he, Annabeth, and Thalia had been through so much together, but who knows how much Annabeth had been through with Percy, let alone how much _he_ had caused switching over to Kronos's side. He came into Hermes's room, and his eyes widened at awe. In this room was everything Luke ever needed to live, and more.

Unfortunately, Luke only had about 8 more minutes before he had to head back so he settled on getting some Call of Duty action in before heading back, and that's exactly what he did.


	7. Chapter 7

Everyone came back after 15 minutes. Luke noticed that PJ and AJ were sharing a Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream on a stick, while Percy and Annabeth were sharing an ice cream sundae. It hurt him somewhat to know that Annabeth (either one) would quickly share ice cream with her respective Percy and not even give him a second glance. He started wondering what had happened to the Annabeth who had trouble talking to him and blushed whenever he complimented her.

"Where'd you get the ice cream?" whined Leo

"That's for us to know," said Percy and PJ

"And you to never find out," finished Annabeth and AJ

"That's kind of creepy," pointed out Jason

"Nuh-uh," said Percy, "if you want creepy, look at Octavian."

"You got that right," said Frank

"Octavian?" asked Annabeth

"He's like Rachael," said Percy, "except he slaughters teddy bears and pillow pets to get his job done. He kind of looks like Luke without the scar and in a white toga over a blue shirt and jeans, except he doesn't really work out that much."

"Not a pretty picture as it is," said Piper

"Hey!" said Luke, indignantly, "I've been told I'm pretty good looking, so how would you know?"

"I'm a daughter of Aphrodite," said Piper, "I think I can tell who's good-looking and who's not, and Luke, you're like number 25…"

Luke smiled smugly, before Piper finished, "thousand."

At this Luke's face fell, and he stuttered, "A-are y-you sure a-about that?"

"Yeah, pretty sure," said Piper

Luke was about to retort, when he noticed Annabeth, to the side of him, shaking her head while Percy was smirking and looked as if he wanted Luke to continue and make a fool out of himself. Luke didn't want to give Percy the satisfaction, so he stood straight and stopped arguing, and chose to sit down next to AJ, who was leaning against the couch arm, looking at the architecture.

Luke was about to ask her about how she felt, when she cried, "Luke, don't sit there! That's Percy's, I mean the Percy that's my age, seat! Can you move over so he can sit there?"

"I don't see him here," said Luke

"Stop being rude and move over Luke," said AJ, "he just went to go get some more cookie dough ice cream. He'll be right back, now move over!"

Luke sighed and moved over, just in time for PJ to come in with another cookie dough ice cream on a stick and sit next to AJ, as they started sharing the ice cream.

"Is it just me," whispered Leo to Piper and Jason, "or does Luke look like he's trying to gain the attention of a kid younger than him by 5 years?"

"I've been seeing it as well," said Jason

"It's not just you two either," said Piper, "I've been getting this vibe from Luke that tells me that what he feels towards both Annabeth's is a little more than what a friend has."

"What about AJ?" asked Jason, "Bigger Annabeth, I know she loves her Percy, since she practically ran herself to the ground looking for him, but I'm not sure about AJ."

"AJ? Hold on," said Piper, before closing her eyes for a moment, "Yeah, she only sees Luke as a friend now. She sees PJ more of a best friend now, maybe a little crush on him, the same could be said for PJ, but they're both too young to realize it, so it doesn't matter."

Jason and Leo nodded in understanding. Well, Jason did. Leo just nodded because he was seeing his helicopter he made with crude tools he found in his magic tool belt fly half way to the ceiling before it came crashing down.

**I get a new Cabin Mate**

"I thought you said that Percy didn't have any siblings?" asked Leo

"Did you forget about Tyson again?" asked Piper

"Oh, sorry," said Leo, grinning sheepishly

**Ever come home and found your room messed up? Like some helpful person (hi, Mom) has tried to "clean" it, and suddenly you can't find anything?**

"Yes," said those who stayed at camp part-time.

**And even if nothing is missing, you get that creepy feeling like somebody's been looking through your private stuff and dusting everything with lemon furniture polish?**

"I hate that feeling," said Apollo

"No one does that to you," said Artemis

"You're point?" asked Apollo

**That's kind of the way I felt seeing Camp Half-Blood again.**

**On the surface, things didn't look all that different.**

**The Big House was still there with its blue gabled roof and its wraparound porch. The strawberry fields still baked in the sun. The same white-columned Greek buildings were scattered around the valley—the amphitheater, the combat arena, the dining pavilion overlooking Long Island Sound. And nestled between the woods and the creek were the same cabins—a crazy assortment of twelve buildings, each representing a different Olympian god.**

**But there was an air of danger now. You could tell something was wrong.**

"Wow," said Jason, "if you could feel it, then something must be wrong."

**Instead of playing volleyball in the sandpit, counselors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed. Dryads armed with bows and arrows talked nervously at the edge of the woods. The forest looked sickly, the grass in the meadow was pale yellow, and the fire marks on Half-Blood Hill stood out like ugly scars.**

**Somebody had messed with my favorite place in the world, and I was not ... well, a happy camper.**

"You don't want Percy to be an unhappy camper," said Thalia

"Or he just might make you an unhappy dead soul," said Nico

**As we made our way to the Big House, I recognized a lot of kids from last summer. Nobody stopped to talk. Nobody said, "Welcome back." Some did double takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past and carried on with their duties—running messages, toting swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels. The camp felt like a military school. And believe me, I know. I've been kicked out of a couple.**

"You got kicked out of military school?" asked AJ

"I think the count is up to five," said PJ

"You should at least try to stay," said AJ

"Not my fault I get blamed for stuff," shrugged PJ

**None of that mattered to Tyson. He was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw. "Whasthat!" he gasped.**

**"The stables for pegasi," I said. "The winged horses."**

**"Whasthat!"**

**"Um ... those are the toilets."**

Everyone laughed

"He didn't know what the toilets were?" asked Thalia in between laughs

"Yeah, he didn't," said Percy

"It was kind of awkward," said Annabeth

The book-reading robot continued once the laughter died down.

**"Whasthat!"**

**"The cabins for the campers. If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin—**

**that brown one over there—until you're determined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group."**

**He looked at me in awe. "You ... have a**_**cabin?"**_

**"Number three." I pointed to a low gray building made of sea stone.**

**"You live with friends in the cabin?"**

**"No. No, just me." I didn't feel like explaining. The embarrassing truth: I was the only one who stayed in that cabin because I wasn't supposed to be alive.**

"So, Hades was the only one who didn't break the oath?" asked Luke

Everyone nodded, and Luke just sat there dumfounded.

**The "Big Three" gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—had made a pact after World War II not to have any more children with mortals. We were more powerful than regular half-bloods. We were too unpredictable. When we got mad we tended to cause problems ... like World War II, for instance. The "Big Three" pact had only been broken twice—once when Zeus sired Thalia, once when Poseidon sired me. Neither of us should've been born.**

**Thalia had gotten herself turned into a pine tree when she was twelve. Me ... well, I was doing my best not to follow her example.**

"Sorry Thals," said Percy, not wanting to get struck by lightning

"It's fine," said Thalia

**I had nightmares about what Poseidon might turn me into if I were ever on the verge of death— plankton, maybe. Or a floating patch of kelp.**

"Even if you were kelp, I'd still love you," whispered Annabeth as everyone was laughing.

"I wouldn't turn you into those," said Poseidon, "I'd probably turn you into a willow tree, or Pumpkin Ash."

**When we got to the Big House, we found Chiron in his apartment, listening to his favorite 1960s lounge music while he packed his saddlebags. I guess I should mention—Chiron is a centaur. From the waist up he looks like a regular middle-aged guy with curly brown hair and a scraggly beard. From the waist down, he's a white stallion. He can pass for human by compacting his lower half into a magic wheelchair.**

**In fact, he'd passed himself off as my Latin teacher during my sixth-grade year. But most of the time, if the ceilings are high enough, he prefers hanging out in full centaur form.**

"Who wouldn't?" asked Leo

**As soon as we saw him, Tyson froze. "Pony!" he cried in total rapture.**

Everyone laughed

"He's so cute!" squealed Aphrodite

"Not as cute as me, right?" asked Ares

"Keep dreaming," said Aphrodite

**Chiron turned, looking offended. "I beg your pardon?"**

**Annabeth ran up and hugged him. "Chiron, what's happening? You're not ... leaving?" Her voice was shaky. Chiron was like a second father to her.**

**Chiron ruffled her hair and gave her a kindly smile.**

**"Hello, child. And Percy, my goodness. You've grown over the year!"**

"Of course he has," said Poseidon, "he's still about thirteen. He's not going to stop growing just because you're not there."

**I swallowed. "Clarisse said you were ... you were ..."**

**"Fired." Chiron's eyes glinted with dark humor. "Ah, well, someone had to take the blame. Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he'd created from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned! Mr. D had to punish someone."**

"Besides himself," said AJ

**"Besides himself, you mean," I growled. Just the thought of the camp director, Mr. D, made me angry.**

"The feeling's mutual Perry Johanson," said Dionysus, not looking up from his wine magazine.

**"But this is crazy!" Annabeth cried. "Chiron, you couldn't have had anything to do with poisoning Thalia's tree!"**

**"Nevertheless," Chiron sighed, "some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances."**

**"What circumstances?" I asked.**

**Chiron's face darkened. He stuffed a Latin-English dictionary into his saddlebag while the Frank Sinatra music oozed from his boom box.**

"Why would he need a Latin-English dictionary?" asked Athena

"Maybe he was talking with Lupa," whispered Percy to Annabeth

**Tyson was still staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered like he wanted to pat Chiron's flank but was afraid to come closer. "Pony?"**

"He sure loves his ponies," said Artemis

"He's enthralled by ponies," said Percy, "but his heart belongs mainly to peanut butter and maybe this harpy named Ella."

**Chiron sniffed. "My dear young Cyclops! I am a**_**centaur.**_**"**

**"Chiron," I said. "What about the tree? What happened?"**

**He shook his head sadly. "The poison used on Thalia's pine is something from the Underworld, Percy. Some venom even I have never seen. It must have come from a monster quite deep in the pits of Tartarus."**

"How in the world would Chiron have gotten hold of it if it's from deep in the pits of Tartarus?" asked Poseidon, "Wouldn't it make much more sense that the son of Hermes, granted a terribly son but a son nonetheless, would have done this?"

"Tell me, brother," said Zeus, "let's say your son had been turned into a tree and it got poisoned; would you realize that Chiron wasn't the one in your rage? Or would you go after the first person who you suspect?"

"Yes and no," said Poseidon, "I'd at least realize that it would be someone who either hated Percy, me, the gods, or camp and I'd go after him/her."

Zeus simply grumbled

**"Then we know who's responsible. Kro—"**

"Even he realized who did it," said Athena, "and he's supposed to be slow."

**"Do not invoke the titan lord's name, Percy. Especially not here, not now."**

**"But last summer he tried to cause a civil war in Olympus! This**_**has**___**to be his idea. He'd get Luke to do it, that traitor."**

"You don't even know if it _is_ me or not," said Luke

"We do, actually," said Percy

"How do you know?" asked Luke

"I'm sure I have my ways," said PJ

"That I do," continued Percy

**"Perhaps," Chiron said. "But I fear I am being held responsible because I did not prevent it and I cannot cure it. The tree has only a few weeks of life left unless ..."**

**"Unless what?" Annabeth asked.**

**"No," Chiron said. "A foolish thought. The whole valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying. Only one source of magic would be strong enough to reverse the poison, and it was lost centuries ago."**

**"What**_**is**___**it?" I asked. "We'll go find it!"**

"Another instance where I'm left in the dark," said Percy

"What do you mean 'another instance'?" asked Thalia

"No one tells me all the important stuff," said Percy, "sure, I get told things, but they're not really things that would help clue me in. People would always skirt around my question and avoid talking about it, and I wouldn't find out until it was almost too late or we're close to where we have to be, and when people try to clue me in then, I wouldn't know because I was never told these things."

After his rant, everyone who knew him looked down in guilt, while Percy huffed and PJ nodded.

"Sorry," said Thalia, "it's just, we thought you'd know."

"Yeah, because I go to the library every day and read up on Greek 'myth'," said Percy

"How about I make it up to you later?" whispered Annabeth

"How about you make it up while Little us are sleeping?" asked Percy, while Annabeth smiled

"Do you want me to help you with your Greek knowledge?" asked AJ to PJ, "then maybe when you're older, you wouldn't have to suffer like your older self."

"I'd like that," smiled PJ

**Chiron closed his saddlebag. He pressed the stop button on his boom box. Then he turned and rested his hand on my shoulder, looking me straight in the eyes. "Percy, you must promise me that you will**_**not**___**act rashly. I told your mother I did not want you to come here at all this summer. It's much too dangerous. But now that you are here,**_**stay**___**here. Train hard. Learn to fight. But do not leave."**

"Like he would listen," snorted Thalia

**"Why?" I asked. "I want to do something! I can't just let the borders fail. The whole camp will be—"**

**"Overrun by monsters," Chiron said. "Yes, I fear so. But you must not let yourself be baited into hasty action! This could be a trap of the titan lord. Remember last summer! He almost took your life."**

"Yeah, but if I stay, he _will_ take my life," said PJ

**It was true, but still, I wanted to help so badly. I also wanted to make Kronos pay. I mean, you'd think the titan lord would've learned his lesson eons ago when he was over thrown by the gods. You'd think getting chopped into a million pieces and cast into the darkest part of the Underworld would give him a subtle clue that nobody wanted him around.**

"Yeah, I know, right?" snorted Nico

**But no. Because he was immortal, he was still alive down there in Tartarus—suffering in eternal pain, hungering to return and take revenge on Olympus.**

**He couldn't act on his own, but he was great at twisting the minds of mortals and even gods to do his dirty work.**

A few gods glared at Ares (mainly Aphrodite) while a few demigods glared at Luke (mainly Percy, PJ, and Poseidon)

**The poisoning**_**had**___**to be his doing. Who else would be so low as to attack Thalia's tree, the only thing left of a hero who'd given her life to save her friends?**

**Annabeth was trying hard not to cry.**

**Chiron brushed a tear from her cheek. "Stay with Percy, child," he told her. "Keep him safe. The prophecy—remember it!"**

**"I—I will."**

**"Um ..." I said. "Would this be the super-dangerous prophecy that has me in it, but the gods have forbidden you to tell me about?"**

**Nobody answered.**

"Another point," said Percy, "you know, I think it has happened to me at least like 50 times before I saw the film."

Those who knew Percy beforehand wince, especially Annabeth, and looked guilty.

**"Right," I muttered. "Just checking."**

**"Chiron ..." Annabeth said. "You told me the gods made you immortal only so long as you were needed to train heroes. If they dismiss you from camp—"**

**"Swear you will do your best to keep Percy from danger," he insisted. "Swear upon the River Styx."**

**"I—I swear it upon the River Styx," Annabeth said.**

"Was it just while he's not at camp or was it for his entire life?" asked Thalia

"I think it was just while he's not at camp," said Annabeth, "doesn't matter, I'm released from the oath, but I'm still going to try and keep him from trouble."

"I'd still want you to fight alongside with me," said Percy

**Thunder rumbled outside.**

**"Very well," Chiron said. He seemed to relax just a little. "Perhaps my name will be cleared and I shall return. Until then, I go to visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. It's possible they know of some cure for the poisoned tree that I have forgotten. In any event, I will stay in exile until this matter is resolved ... one way or another."**

**Annabeth stifled a sob. Chiron patted her shoulder awkwardly. "There, now, child. I must entrust your safety to Mr. D and the new activities director. We must hope ... well, perhaps they won't destroy the camp quite as quickly as I fear."**

"Pfft," said AJ, "if Mr. D is left in charge, he would sooner destroy the camp if it weren't for Lord Zeus."

**"Who is this Tantalus guy, anyway?" I demanded.** **"Where does he get off taking your job?"**

**A conch horn blew across the valley. I hadn't realized how late it was. It was time for the campers to assemble for dinner.**

**"Go," Chiron said. "You will meet him at the pavilion. I will contact your mother, Percy, and let her know you're safe. No doubt she'll be worried by now. Just remember my warning! You are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten you!"**

"Of course he hasn't," said Percy

"Especially since Percy was the one who beat him," said Annabeth

"It was Luke who did it actually," said Percy

"Why would I go against My Lord Kronos," said Luke, as a slight cold front came into the throne room, "I am loyal to him and hate the gods for what they've done!"

"Shut it Luke before I shut it for you!" said Percy

"As if you could beat me!" boasted Luke

"He actually has," said Annabeth, "A lot of the times you two fight, and you back out or find an advantage to win. Percy does neither, and is a more honorable fighter and overall person."

Luke's temper flared, but he didn't show it, opting instead to quiet down and look away. His thoughts were filled of how Annabeth is now going against _him_, the love of her life (or what he thought as the love of her life), to defend the guy who was missing for eight _freakin'_ months. He's been with her for most of her life.

**With that, he clopped out of the apartment and down the hall, Tyson calling after him, "Pony! Don't go!"**

**I realized I'd forgotten to tell Chiron about my dream of Grover. Now it was too late. The best teacher I'd ever had was gone, maybe for good.**

Everyone had a moment of silence for the immortal teacher of heroes before continuing the read.

**Tyson started bawling almost as bad as Annabeth. I tried to tell them that things would be okay, but I didn't believe it.**

**The sun was setting behind the dining pavilion as the campers came up from their cabins. We stood in the shadow of a marble column and watched them file in. Annabeth was still pretty shaken up, but she promised she'd talk to us later. Then she went off to join her siblings from the Athena cabin—a dozen boys and girls with blond hair and gray eyes like hers. Annabeth wasn't the oldest, but she'd been at camp more summers than just about anybody. You could tell that by looking at her camp necklace—one bead for every summer, and Annabeth had six. No one questioned her right to lead the line.**

"No one questions you're right either," said Annabeth, pecking him on the cheek

"I don't doubt it," said Percy, kissing her hair

Luke looked on with longing filled in his eyes. He realized that he had no chance with Annabeth, now that Percy has come into the picture, especially since they know that he's joined up with one of the gods' enemies (not that he liked the gods or anything). Luke started thinking about what would have happened if he didn't try to help Kronos rise.

**Next came Clarisse, leading the Ares cabin. She had one arm in a sling and a nasty-looking gash on her cheek, but otherwise her encounter with the bronze bulls didn't seem to have fazed her. Someone had taped a piece of paper to her back that said, YOU MOO, GIRL!**

Everyone in the throne room either started laughing out of control (Apollo, Hermes, and Leo) or cracked a smile (everyone else but Luke).

**But nobody in her cabin was bothering to tell her about it.**

**After the Ares kids came the Hephaestus cabin—six guys led by Charles Beckendorf, a big fifteen-year-old African American kid.**

**He had hands the size of catchers' mitts and a face that was hard and squinty from looking into a blacksmiths forge all day. He was nice enough once you got to know him, but no one ever called him Charlie or Chuck or Charles. Most just called him Beckendorf. Rumor was he could make anything. Give him a chunk of metal and he could create a razor-sharp sword or a robotic warrior or a singing birdbath for your grandmother's garden. Whatever you wanted.**

Hephaestus beamed with pride

**The other cabins filed in: Demeter, Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus. Naiads came up from the canoe lake.**

**Dryads melted out of the trees. From the meadow came a dozen satyrs, who reminded me painfully of Grover.**

**I'd always had a soft spot for the satyrs. When they were at camp, they had to do all kinds of odd jobs for Mr. D, the director, but their most important work was out in the real world. They were the camp's seekers. They went undercover into schools all over the world, looking for potential half-bloods and escorting them back to camp. That's how I'd met Grover. He had been the first one to recognize I was a demigod.**

**After the satyrs filed in to dinner, the Hermes cabin brought up the rear.**

**They were always the biggest cabin. Last summer, it had been led by Luke, the guy who'd fought with Thalia and Annabeth on top of Half-Blood Hill. For a while, before Poseidon had claimed me, I'd lodged in the Hermes cabin. Luke had befriended me ... and then he'd tried to kill me.**

Once again, Luke had to ignore as best as he could the glares given by Poseidon, Annabeth, Percy, PJ, AJ, and, now, Frank and Hazel.

**Now the Hermes cabin was led by Travis and Connor Stoll.**

**They weren't twins, but they looked so much alike it didn't matter. I could never remember which one was older.**

"It is hard to tell," said Annabeth, "but I think Travis is older."

**They were both tall and skinny, with mops of brown hair that hung in their eyes. They wore orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts untucked over baggy shorts, and they had those elfish features all Hermes's kids had: upturned eyebrows, sarcastic smiles, a gleam in their eyes whenever they looked at you—like they were about to drop a firecracker down your shirt.**

**I'd always thought it was funny that the god of thieves would have kids with the last name "Stoll," but the only time I mentioned it to Travis and Connor, they both stared at me blankly like they didn't get the joke.**

"I don't get it," said Hermes

"Their last name is like the past tense of steal," said Athena

"I still don't get it," said Hermes

**As soon as the last campers had filed in, I led Tyson into the middle of the pavilion. Conversations faltered. Heads turned. "Who invited**_**that?**_**" somebody at the Apollo table murmured.**

"I think that was Michael Yew," said Annabeth

"How are they so mean to Tyson?" asked Piper, "I mean, whenever Tyson came to camp, everyone loves him."

"They didn't like him when he first came," said Percy, sadly, "they thought that he didn't belong there either because he's not a half-blood, he's a monster, or he's not the prettiest thing in the world. Take your pick."

"You should know I'm sorry about how I acted," whispered Annabeth

"You actually had a good reason to," said Percy, "not them."

**I glared in their direction, but I couldn't figure out who'd spoken.**

**From the head table a familiar voice drawled, "Well, well, if it isn't Peter Johnson. My millennium is complete."**

**I gritted my teeth.**_**"Percy Jackson**___**... sir."**

**Mr. D sipped his Diet Coke. "Yes. Well, as you young people say these days:**_**Whatever."**_

**He was wearing his usual leopard-pattern Hawaiian shirt, walking shorts, and tennis shoes with black socks. With his pudgy belly and his blotchy red face, he looked like a Las Vegas tourist who'd stayed up too late in the casinos. Behind him, a nervous-looking satyr was peeling the skins off grapes and handing them to Mr. D one at a time.**

**Mr. D's real name is Dionysus. The god of wine. Zeus appointed him director of Camp Half-Blood to dry out for a hundred years—a punishment for chasing some off-limits wood nymph.**

"Why was it off-limits?" asked Leo

**Next to him, where Chiron usually sat (or stood, in centaur form), was someone I'd never seen before—a pale, horribly thin man in a threadbare orange prisoner's jump suit. The number over his pocket read 0001.**

**He had blue shadows under his eyes, dirty fingernails, and badly cut gray hair, like his last haircut had been done with a weed whacker. He stared at me; his eyes made me nervous. He looked ... fractured. Angry and frustrated and hungry all at the same time.**

"He was," said Percy, "the only thing I liked about that summer was seeing Tantalus suffer from food."

**"This boy," Dionysus told him, "you need to watch. Poseidon's child, you know."**

Poseidon glared at Dionysus, who shrunk in his throne and pretended not to notice, but failed miserably.

**"Ah!" the prisoner said. "That one."**

**His tone made it obvious that he and Dionysus had already discussed me at length.**

**"I am Tantalus," the prisoner said, smiling coldly. "On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Perseus Jackson, I**_**do**___**expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble."**

**"Trouble?" I demanded.**

**Dionysus snapped his fingers. A newspaper appeared on the table—the front page of today's**_**New York Post,**___**There was my yearbook picture from Meriwether Prep. It was hard for me to make out the headline, but I had a pretty good guess what it said.**

**Something like:**_**Thirteen-Year-Old Lunatic Torches Gymnasium.**_

**"Yes, trouble," Tantalus said with satisfaction. "You caused plenty of it last summer, I understand."**

**I was too mad to speak. Like it was**_**my**___**fault the gods had almost gotten into a civil war?**

"I'm beginning to hate this guy more and more," said Thalia

"How did Mr. D stand this guy?" asked Nico

"Oh, trust me," said Percy, "by the end of the summer, Mr. D didn't like him anymore."

**A satyr inched forward nervously and set a plate of barbecue in front of Tantalus. The new activities director licked his lips. He looked at his empty goblet and said, "Root beer. Barq's special stock. 1967."**

**The glass filled itself with foamy soda. Tantalus stretched out his hand hesitantly, as if he were afraid the goblet was hot.**

"Now why would it get hot?" asked Leo, lighting his hand on fire

**"Go on, then, old fellow," Dionysus said, a strange sparkle in his eyes. "Perhaps now it will work."**

**Tantalus grabbed for the glass, but it scooted away before he could touch it. A few drops of root beer spilled, and Tantalus tried to dab them up with his fingers, but the drops rolled away like quicksilver before he could touch them. He growled and turned toward the plate of barbecue. He picked up a fork and tried to stab a piece of brisket, but the plate skittered down the table and flew off the end, straight into the coals of the brazier.**

Everyone laughed, especially after Percy said, "Even his food hates him."

**"Blast!" Tantalus muttered.**

**"Ah, well," Dionysus said, his voice dripping with false sympathy. "Perhaps a few more days. Believe me, old chap, working at this camp will be torture enough. I'm sure your old curse will fade eventually."**

"What curse?" asked Piper

"He has a curse on him," said Percy, "that prevents him from eating or drinking and is forced to stand near a lake and under a fruit tree."

**"Eventually," muttered Tantalus, staring at Dionysus's Diet Coke. "Do you have any idea how dry one's throat gets after three thousand years?"**

**"You're that spirit from the Fields of Punishment," I said. "The one who stands in the lake with the fruit tree hanging over you, but you can't eat or drink."**

**Tantalus sneered at me. "A real scholar, aren't you, boy?"**

**"You must've done something really horrible when you were alive," I said, mildly impressed. "What was it?"**

**Tantalus's eyes narrowed. Behind him, the satyrs were shaking their heads vigorously, trying to warn me.**

**"I'll be watching you, Percy Jackson," Tantalus said. "I don't want any problems at my camp."**

"How could you stand this guy?" asked Jason

"WE couldn't," said Annabeth

"I had my fair share with guys who were jerks all the time," said Percy, "so I don't hesitate to make fun of them."

**"**_**Your**___**camp has problems already ... sir."**

**"Oh, go sit down, Johnson," Dionysus sighed. "I believe that table over there is yours—the one where no one else ever wants to sit."**

**My face was burning, but I knew better than to talk back. Dionysus was an overgrown brat, but he was an immortal, super powerful overgrown brat.**

"For once," said Zeus, eyeing Dionysus, "you're not wrong."

Dionysus gulped, knowing better than to talk back

**I said, "Come on, Tyson."**

**"Oh, no," Tantalus said. "The monster stays here. We must decide what to do with it."**

"Tyson is not an inanimate object," said PJ, "he's a Cyclopes, a living being."

"You actually used it right, Seaweed Brain," said AJ, giving him a high-five, "good job!"

Confusion went clear on everyone's faces, except for Percy's and Annabeth's, as they watched this interaction.

"Um, Annabeth's been helping me," blushed PJ, "you know, with school stuff."

_**"Him,"**___**I snapped. "His name is Tyson."**

**The new activities director raised an eyebrow.**

**"Tyson saved the camp," I insisted. "He pounded those bronze bulls. Otherwise they would've burned down this whole place."**

**"Yes," Tantalus sighed, "and**_**what**___**a pity that would've been."**

"I hope we never have to deal with him now and forever," said Piper, with the rest of the demigods agreeing.

**Dionysus snickered.**

**"Leave us," Tantalus ordered, "while we decide this creature's fate."**

**Tyson looked at me with fear in his one big eye, but I knew I couldn't disobey a direct order from the camp directors. Not openly, anyway.**

**"I'll be right over here, big guy," I promised. "Don't worry. We'll find you a good place to sleep tonight."**

**Tyson nodded. "I believe you. You are my friend."**

**Which made me feel a whole lot guiltier.**

**I trudged over to the Poseidon table and slumped onto the bench. A wood nymph brought me a plate of Olympian olive-and-pepperoni pizza, but I wasn't hungry. I'd been almost killed twice today. I'd managed to end my school year with a complete disaster. Camp Half-Blood was in serious trouble and Chiron had told me not to do anything about it.**

"Percy's not going to listen to Chiron," said Nico, "his obedience streak only happens when Annabeth, Poseidon, Paul, or Sally are around."

"Paul?" asked Poseidon

"Paul," nodded Percy, "my mom's new husband. He's an English teacher."

**I didn't feel very thankful, but I took my dinner, as was customary, up to the bronze brazier and scraped part of it into the flames.**

**"Poseidon," I murmured, "accept my offering."**

_**And send me some help while you're at it,**___**I prayed silently.**_**Please.**_

**The smoke from the burning pizza changed into something fragrant—the smell of a clean sea breeze with wild-flowers mixed in—but I had no idea if that meant my father was really listening.**

"I always listen," smiled Poseidon

**I went back to my seat. I didn't think things could get much worse. But then Tantalus had one of the satyrs blow the conch horn to get our attention for announcements.**

**"Yes, well," Tantalus said, once the talking had died down. "Another fine meal! Or so I am told." As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his refilled dinner plate, as if maybe the food wouldn't notice what he was doing, but it did. It shot away down the table as soon as he got within six inches.**

**"And here on my first day of authority," he continued, "I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture, er, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat."**

"Why, may I ask, is this demon of a person given the place of Chiron?" asked Athena

"Isn't he the guy who tried to serve his children in the food that he was giving to you guys?" asked PJ, "or was it another one."

"No, you got it right," said AJ, "see, this is what happens when you find the right way to study for you."

PJ beamed, while AJ gave him another high-five.

**Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some halfhearted applause from the satyrs. Tyson was still standing at the head table, looking uncomfortable, but every time he tried to****scoot out of the limelight, Tantalus pulled him back.**

**"And now some changes!" Tantalus gave the campers a crooked smile. "We are reinstituting the chariot races!"**

**Murmuring broke out at all the tables—excitement, fear, disbelief.**

**"Now I know," Tantalus continued, raising his voice, "that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."**

**"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations," someone at the Apollo table called.**

"And Tantalus calls that 'technical problems'?" asked Apollo

**"Yes, yes!" Tantalus said. "But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"**

**An explosion of excited conversation—no KP for a whole month? No stable cleaning?**

**Was he serious?**

**Then the last person I expected to object did so.**

**"But, sir!" Clarisse said. She looked nervous, but she stood up to speak from the Ares table. Some of the campers snickered when they saw the YOU MOO, GIRL! sign on her back. "What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots—"**

**"Ah, the hero of the day," Tantalus exclaimed. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!"**

"Is he serious?" asked Athena, "He blatantly ignored the fact that Tyson had helped destroy the bulls."

"Clarisse was Tantalus's teacher's pet, so to speak," said Percy, "but she hated it."

"With a person like Tantalus, who wouldn't?" asked Thalia

**Clarisse blinked, then blushed. "Um, I didn't—"**

**"And modest, too." Tantalus grinned. "Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"**

**"But the tree—"**

**"And now," Tantalus said, as several of Clarisse's cabin mates pulled her back into her seat, "before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring**_**this**___**here." Tantalus waved a hand toward Tyson.**

**Uneasy murmuring spread among the campers. A lot of sideways looks at me. I wanted to kill Tantalus.**

**"Now, of course," he said, "Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes's cabin, possibly?"**

**Silence at the Hermes table. Travis and Connor Stoll developed a sudden interest in the tablecloth. I couldn't blame them. The Hermes cabin was always full to bursting. There was no way they could take in a six-foot-three Cyclops.**

"If only people could just claim their kids," said Hermes, "then maybe it might be possible."

Unbeknownst to the camp, there was a whole lot of claimed kids.

**"Come now," Tantalus chided. "The monster may be able to do some menial chores. Any suggestions as to where such a beast should be kenneled?"**

"Never again are we letting this Tantalus away from his curse," said Poseidon, "I say we should make his curse even worse. No one treats my good kids as a monster and gets away with it."

"So you still admit he's a monster?" asked Athena

"Depends on the person," shrugged Poseidon, "but there are some of my kids who are true monsters, I realize that."

**Suddenly everybody gasped.**

**Tantalus scooted away from Tyson in surprise. All I could do was stare in disbelief at the brilliant green light that was about to change my life—a dazzling holographic image that had appeared above Tyson's head.**

**With a sickening twist in my stomach, I remembered what Annabeth had said about Cyclopes,**_**They're the children of nature spirits and gods ... Well, one god in particular, usually …**_

**Swirling over Tyson was a glowing green trident—the same symbol that had appeared above me the day Poseidon had claimed me as his son.**

**There was a moment of awed silence.**

**Being claimed was a rare event. Some campers waited in vain for it their whole lives.**

Here the gods bowed their heads in guilt, well those who had kids did anyway.

**When I'd been claimed by Poseidon last summer, everyone had reverently knelt.** **But now, they followed Tantalus's lead, and Tantalus roared with laughter. "Well! I think we know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!"**

"Hades," said Poseidon, deadly calm, "is there a chance that I could visit Tantalus in his prison?"

"I'll check in the next break," said Hades

**Everybody laughed except Annabeth and a few of my other friends.**

**Tyson didn't seem to notice. He was too mystified, trying to swat the glowing trident that was now fading over his head. He was too innocent to understand how much they were making fun of him, how cruel people were.**

"People can be cruel without even realizing it," said Athena

**But I got it.**

**I had a new cabin mate. I had a monster for a half-brother.**

"You honestly felt that way?" asked Piper

"At first, yes," said Percy, "and I'm not proud of it, but how would you feel if everyone around you made fun of your siblings, who's basically a six-year-old in a bigger body, and you were trying to help everyone get used to him?"

"I guess that makes sense," said Piper, "kind of."


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N Okay, I've been getting a bunch of reviews on how Luke isn't supposed to be liking Annabeth, so here's my explanation: I **_**hate**_** Luke for halting the development of Percabeth (yes, I'm a Percabeth fan all the way). My other reason is that Annabeth probably spent as much time with Luke as she could, and they **_**may**_** have developed some feelings, but since Luke disappeared before anything could happen and Percy has been in many situations that brought them together, Percy and Annabeth started developing feelings for each other, so there.**_

**Demon Pigeons Attack**

**The next few days were torture, just like Tantalus wanted.**

"Okay," said Athena, "if Chiron actually has to leave for some reason, we're not going to have Tantalus become the activities director.

**First there was Tyson moving into the Poseidon cabin, giggling to himself every fifteen seconds and saying, "Percy is my brother?" like he'd just won the lottery.**

Thalia and Nico snorted but said nothing lest they wished to incur the wrath of the glare from the blonde-haired daughter of Athena

**"Aw, Tyson," I'd say. "It's not that simple."**

**But there was no explaining it to him. He was in heaven. And me ... as much as I liked the big guy, I couldn't help feeling embarrassed. Ashamed. There, I said it.**

"Why were you ashamed?" asked Poseidon

"Well," said Percy, "a lot of people were calling him names, and me as well, so it was kind of hard for me not to get affected."

Annabeth and AJ looked down in shame. Both Percys noticed this and responded differently. Percy gave Annabeth a kiss in her hair, while PJ gave AJ a sideways hug and scooted closer to her. Luke looked on with jealousy, and Aphrodite noticed this for the first time. She was about to decide to make Percy's love life tragic, when she looked at the older Percy and Annabeth and saw how much they've had to grow within these few years and decided against it.

**My father, the all-powerful Poseidon, had gotten moony-eyed for some nature spirit,**

**and Tyson had been the result. I mean, I'd read the myths about Cyclopes. I even remembered that they were often Poseidon's children. But I'd never really processed that this made them my ... family. Until I had Tyson living with me in the next bunk.**

**And then there were the comments from the other campers. Suddenly, I wasn't Percy Jackson, the cool guy who'd retrieved Zeus's lightning bolt last summer.**

**Now I was Percy Jackson, the poor schmuck with the ugly monster for a brother.**

"That can make people feel down," said Athena

"Especially considering the fact that he had to live with that demon of a human for almost a decade," said Artemis, "it's no wonder he started to lose some self-confidence."

**"He's not my**_**real**___**brother!"** **I protested whenever Tyson wasn't around. "He's more like a half-brother on the monstrous side of the family.**

**Like ... a half-brother twice removed, or something."**

**Nobody bought it.**

**I admit—I was angry at my dad. I felt like being his son was now a joke.**

"Sorry son," said Poseidon, looking down

"It's fine," said Percy, "I'm kind of at fault here too."

Annabeth also took some of the blame in her head, but her pride refused to let her say it out loud. Though, Percy could tell that she was thinking it and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. Annabeth looked up and smiled at him before leaning in and snuggling into him

**Annabeth tried to make me feel better. She suggested we team up for the chariot race to take our minds off our problems.**

**Don't get me wrong—we both hated Tantalus and we were worried sick about camp—but we didn't know what to do about it. Until we could come up with some brilliant plan to save Thalia's tree, we figured we might as well go along with the races.**

"So you used the time you two worked on the chariot to come up with plans?" asked Athena

"Well, Annabeth did," said Percy, "I just tried to be helpful."

**After all, Annabeth's mom, Athena, had invented the chariot, and my dad had created horses. Together we would**_**own**___**that track.**

**One morning Annabeth and I were sitting by the canoe lake sketching chariot designs when some jokers from Aphrodite's cabin walked by and asked me if I needed to borrow some eyeliner for my eye ... "Oh sorry,**_**eyes."**_

"Some people are so mean!" said Aphrodite

**As they walked away laughing, Annabeth grumbled, "Just ignore them, Percy. It isn't your fault you have a monster for a brother."**

"Sorry," said Annabeth

"It wasn't just you though," said Percy

**"He's**_**not**___**my brother!" I snapped. "And he's not a monster, either!"**

**Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Hey, don't get mad at me! And technically, he**_**is**___**a monster."**

**"Well**_**you**___**gave him permission to enter the camp."**

**"Because it was the only way to save your life! I mean ... I'm sorry, Percy, I didn't expect Poseidon to**_**claim**___**him. Cyclopes are the most deceitful, treacherous—"**

"Wow," said Apollo, "way to stick to one side of the argument."

"Hey!" said Thalia, glaring at Apollo, "Enough with the jokes on Annabeth! You don't even know why she's acting this way."

"Didn't she say something about bad experiences?" asked Hermes

"Exactly," said Thalia, "wouldn't you have a grudge on someone if you had bad experiences with him/her?"

**"He is not! What have you got against Cyclopes, any-way?"**

**Annabeth's ears turned pink. I got the feeling there was something she wasn't telling me—something bad.**

"Yeah, sorry," said Annabeth, while AJ looked down. PJ, noticing this, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and AJ looked at him. They locked eyes for a second before turning away blushing.s

**"Just forget it," she said. "Now, the axle for this chariot—"**

**"You're treating him like he's this horrible thing," I said. "He saved my life."**

Annabeth turned around and hugged Percy, burying her head into his shirt. He simply wrapped his arms around her and shook his head at everyone, signaling them not to ask.s

**Annabeth threw down her pencil and stood. "Then maybe you should design a chariot with**_**him.**_**"**

**"Maybe I should."**

**"Fine!"**

**"Fine!"**

**She stormed off and left me feeling even worse than before.**

"I hate it when that happens," said Apollo

"This time, it wasn't even Percy's fault and he still feels bad," said Thalia

"I'm sorry," whispered AJ so only PJ could hear her. He simply gave her a hug, and accepted her apology, telling her that it's okay.

"Hey," said PJ, "from what I heard, you, me, and Tyson all get along quite well in the future."

**The next couple of days, I tried to keep my mind off my problems.**

**Silena Beauregard, one of the nicer girls from Aphrodite's cabin,**

"Other than Piper," said Annabeth

**gave me my first riding lesson on a pegasus. She explained that there was only one immortal winged horse named Pegasus, who still wandered free somewhere in the skies, but over the eons he'd sired a lot of children, none quite so fast or heroic, but all named after the first and greatest.**

**Being the son of the sea god, I never liked going into the air.**

**My dad had this rivalry with Zeus, so I tried to stay out of the lord of the sky's domain as much as possible.****But riding a winged horse felt different. It didn't make me nearly as nervous as being in an airplane. Maybe that was because my dad had created horses out of sea foam, so the pegasi were sort of ... neutral territory.**

"Neutral territory my immortal butt," grumbled Zeus

**I could understand their thoughts. I wasn't surprised when my pegasus went galloping over the treetops or chased a flock of seagulls into a cloud.**

**The problem was that Tyson wanted to ride the "chicken ponies,"**

"Does he compare everything to ponies?" asked Piper

"Not everything," said Percy, "but most of the things, yeah."

**too, but the pegasi got skittish whenever he approached. I told them telepathically that Tyson wouldn't hurt them, but they didn't seem to believe me. That made Tyson cry.**

**The only person at camp who had**_**no**___**problem with Tyson was Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin. The blacksmith god had always worked with Cyclopes in his forges, so Beckendorf took Tyson down to the armory to teach him metalworking. He said he'd have Tyson crafting magic items like a master in no time.**

Poseidon sent a telepathic thank you to Hephaestus, knowing fully that Hephaestus and his kids often got along well with Cyclopes, especially those who went into the metalworking business.

**After lunch, I worked out in the arena with Apollo's cabin. Swordplay had always been my strength. People said I was better at it than any camper in the last hundred years, except maybe Luke.****People always compared me to Luke.**

"I hated that," said Percy

"Why would you hate being compared to me?" asked Luke, "If I were you, I'd be honored to be compared to me."

"Oh, I don't know," said Percy, "I guess a lot of people would like being compared to the one guy that tried to kill him/her on several occasions and is the object of your crush's crush."

"No need to get rude on me," said Luke

"It didn't help that you were rude first, you know," said Jason, who was beginning to like Luke less and less.

Luke grumbled a bit, but otherwise stayed silent.

**I thrashed the Apollo guys easily.**

**I should've been testing myself against the Ares and Athena cabins, since they had the best sword fighters, but I didn't get along with Clarisse and her siblings, and after my argument with Annabeth, I just didn't want to see her.**

**I went to archery class, even though I was terrible at it,**

Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico winced at that.

**and it wasn't the same without Chiron teaching. In arts and crafts, I started a marble bust of Poseidon,****but it started looking like Sylvester Stallone, so I ditched it.**

"At least you tried, son," said Poseidon, "it's the effort that counts."

Percy and PJ smiled. Percy because he didn't want to get on the bad side of the one god that would most likely stick by his side, and PJ because he finally had somewhat of a father figure in his life, even if said figure was an immortal god that was only showing this fatherly side because he was stuck reading the books.

**I scaled the climbing wall in full lava-and-earthquake mode.**

**And in the evenings, I did border patrol. Even though Tantalus had insisted we forget trying to protect the camp, some of the campers had quietly kept it up, working out a schedule during our free times.**

"Even I'm starting to hate this guy," said Zeus, "He doesn't even want to protect my daughter's tree. If Chiron does indeed is forced to quit being the activities director, remind me not to recruit this guy or anyone like him.

**I sat at the top of Half-Blood Hill and watched the dryads come and go,****singing to the dying pine tree. Satyrs brought their reed pipes and played nature magic songs, and for a while the pine needles seemed to get fuller. The flowers on the hill smelled a little sweeter and the grass looked greener. But as soon as the music stopped, the sickness crept back into the air. The whole hill seemed to be infected, dying from the poison that had sunk into the tree's roots. The longer I sat there, the angrier I got.**

"It was terrible," said Thalia, "I kept feeling better, and then sick, and then better, and then sick, all over and over again."

**Luke had done this.**

"You have no proof!" said Luke

"We'll have proof by the end of this book," grumbled Percy

**I remembered his sly smile, the dragon-claw scar across his face. He'd pretended to be my friend, and the whole time he'd been Kronos's number-one servant.**

"You wish you were in my position," said Luke

"Yeah right," said Percy

"I'd never go against my own dad," said PJ

"Besides," said Annabeth

"Sally would kick his butt," continued Thalia

"If he ever did," finished Nico

"She probably would," said Poseidon

"Does it creep anyone else out that they know the mother of the sea spawn so much?" asked Athena

"We've stayed with Sally before," shrugged Thalia, "so we know her pretty well."

**I opened the palm of my hand. The scar Luke had given me last summer was fading, but I could still see it—a white asterisk-shaped wound where his pit scorpion had stung me.**

**I thought about what Luke had told me right before he'd tried to kill me:**_**Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it.**_

**At night, I had more dreams of Grover. Sometimes, I just heard snatches of his voice. Once, I heard him say:**_**It's here.**___**Another time:**_**He likes sheep.**_

"Sheep is awesome!" said Leo

"Goats are better," said Nico, "especially when cooked."

"You've had goat before?" asked Hades

"Yeah," said Nico, "I've accidently shadow-traveled to different Asian countries before. I once went to India and had some goat meat, and it tasted really good."

**I thought about telling Annabeth about my dreams, but I would've felt stupid. I mean,**_**He likes sheep?**___**She would've thought I was crazy.**

"I already think you're crazy," said Annabeth, "wouldn't change a thing."

"So, you're into crazy guys now?" asked Percy, worriedly, "Because if you were, then I'd have to keep Nico in check, you know, so –"

Annabeth silenced him with a kiss on the lips, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

**The night before the race, Tyson and I finished our chariot. It was wicked cool. Tyson had made the metal parts in the armory's forges. I'd sanded the wood and put the carriage together.****It was blue and white, with wave designs on the sides and a trident painted on the front.**

"I approve," nodded Poseidon.

**After all that work, it seemed only fair that Tyson would ride shotgun with me, though I knew the horses wouldn't like it, and Tyson's extra weight would slow us down.**

**As we were turning in for bed, Tyson said, "You are mad?"**

**I realized I'd been scowling.**

"Tsk tsk tsk," said Nico, "scowling isn't good for you. You can get diarrhea."

"Those are laxatives Nico," said Percy

"I thought laxatives were the things you put on your weiner when you're getting ready to—" started Nico when his mouth was covered by Percy's hand, he was zapped by Thalia, and was hit in the head by Annabeth. Not necessarily in that order.

"Nico, when was the last time you've been to school?" asked Hades

"Umm, 1941?" asked Nico, "I'm usually doing odd jobs for you, so I don't get time to go to school."

"All right," sighed Hades, "I have to get Persephone to remind me to get Nico into a school once I pull him out."

**"Nah. I'm not mad."**

**He lay down in his bunk and was quiet in the dark. His body was way too long for his bed. When he pulled up the covers, his feet stuck out the bottom. "I am a monster."**

"All Cyclopes are monsters," snarled Luke, noticing Annabeth get up as soon as he said that.

He understood why once both Percys had their swords against his throat as he slowly gulped

"Never say that," growled Percy, "Tyson is not a monster. He's the sweetest thing you'll ever find on this planet, so I suggest you shut up about Tyson when I'm around."

Luke nodded as much as he could with two swords pointed at his throat, before Percy and PJ went back to where they were sitting, the older glaring at the son of Hermes as his girlfriend sat back on his lap.

"Remind me to never piss Percy off," said Apollo

"Yeah, it might just be the last thing you do if you're on the wrong side," said Nico

**"Don't say that."**

**"It is okay. I will be a**_**good**___**monster. Then you will not have to be mad."**

"He's so sweet!" squealed Aphrodite

"I can make an automaton that could act just like him if you want," said Hephaestus, "and you can design it anyway you want."

"Can you do that?" asked Aphrodite, and Hephaestus nodded, "Great, when can we start?"

"We can start as soon as possible," said Hephaestus, "you can also help me figure out how to get the emotions right. Never been good with that stuff."

"Of course I'll help," said Aphrodite, as she hugged his arm.

**I didn't know what to say. I stared at the ceiling and felt like I was dying slowly, right along with Thalia's tree.**

**"It's just... I never had a half-brother before." I tried to keep my voice from cracking. "It's really different for me. And I'm worried about the camp. And another friend of mine, Grover ... he might be in trouble. I keep feeling like I should be doing something to help, but I don't know what."**

"That's deep dude," said Apollo

"Thanks," said Percy

**Tyson said nothing.**

**"I'm sorry," I told him. "It's not your fault. I'm mad at Poseidon. I feel like he's trying to embarrass me, like he's trying to compare us or something, and I don't understand why."**

"I would never do that intentionally," said Poseidon

"I know," said Percy, "it wasn't your fault. It was just a side effect from everyone else making fun of us."

**I heard a deep rumbling sound. Tyson was snoring.**

**I sighed. "Good night, big guy."**

**And I closed my eyes, too.**

"Why?" asked Frank

"I was going to sleep," said Percy

"Oh," said Frank, blushing

**In my dream, Grover was wearing a wedding dress.**

"So you're getting married to Grover?" asked Luke

"What, no!" said Grover and Percy, after which Grover added, "I have a girlfriend and Percy's with Annabeth."

"So, Percy's getting married to Annabeth?" asked Leo

"No!" said Annabeth

"Not yet anyway," said Percy

"Wait, what?" asked Poseidon, who was now in a tuxedo

"I thought Nico was getting married to Thalia," said Hades, who was also in a tuxedo. Zeus quickly changed into a tuxedo after hearing this

"I thought that Travis finally realized his love for that Demeter chick, Katherine or whatever," said Hermes, now in a tuxedo, "and they were getting married."

"I thought Will was getting married to Nyssa," said Apollo, also in a tuxedo

"Aphrodite made me wear mine," said Hephaestus, who, unfortunately, was also in a tuxedo

"NO ONE'S GETTING MARRIED!" yelled Artemis

"Well someone's got to get married," said Aphrodite, who was now in a dress

"How about marry that mouse to a piece of cheese?" asked Nico as he pointed to a mouse, who had somehow wound its way up to Olympus and was scampering around the thrones.

"We don't have cheese though," said Thalia

"Hold on," said Percy, as he pulled a piece of cheese from Luke's pocket, while Luke was now laying on the floor with his arms and legs strapped to the floor, "I found a piece."

"Why is Luke on the floor?" asked Hermes

"I didn't trust him enough to leave him roaming around during a wedding," said Percy, who was now also in a tux, "oh, and thanks for the tux dad."

"Seaweed Brain, I think we can let Luke walk around, as long as he doesn't try anything funny," said Annabeth, who was now in a dress that matched Percy's, "oh, and thanks for the dress Lady Aphrodite."

PJ and AJ were also matching, thanks to Lady Aphrodite, and weren't paying much attention to any of this, opting instead to help PJ work on his monsters and schoolwork.

**~~45 minutes Later~~**

"We have gathered here today," started Zeus, "to wed this lovely piece of cheese and this tiny infestatious rat. Those who are against it please speak now."

"That's MY cheese!" said Luke, "I am stopping this wedding."

"Oh, shut it Luke," said Percy, "leave the couple alone. Can't you see how in love they are?"

Everyone looked at the mouse and cheese, to see the mouse giving the cheese a tiny bouquet of roses. Aphrodite even giggled as she put the shrinking potion back in her purse.

"I still want my cheese," said Luke

"Too bad," said Percy

"Since these two can't say their vows," said Zeus, "the mouse and the cheese are now rodent and dairy-product. You may now run away and eat the cheese."

The mouse squealed with joy, glared at Luke, stuck its hand in the air and did what many would presume as flicking Luke off, before picking up the piece of cheese and running out of the throne room.

"Okay, now that that's done," said Zeus, as all of the gods flashed theirs and their kids' original clothing back on and cleaned up the throne room, which was decorated into a more wedding theme, "let's get back to reading."

**It didn't fit him very well. The gown was too long and the hem was caked with dried mud. The neckline kept falling off his shoulders. A tattered veil covered his face.**

"You should learn how not to make his veil see-through," said Aphrodite, "it's bad luck for grooms to see their brides before the marriage."

"Actually it wasn't my fault," said Grover, "it was the sheep's fault."

"Sheep?" asked Aphrodite

"The guy was a shepherd," shrugged Grover

**He was standing in a dank cave, lit only by torches. There was a cot in one corner and an old-fashioned loom in the other, a length of white cloth half woven on the frame. And he was staring right at me, like I was a TV program he'd been waiting for. "Thank the gods!" he yelped. "Can you hear me?"**

"No," said Leo, smiling, when Apollo shrunk down and stood right next to Leo's ear, and shouted, "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"

"Apollo," said Hephaestus, "I think you just made my son go deaf."

"He said he couldn't hear the robot," said Apollo, "so I was checking his ears."

"There are better ways," said Hephaestus

"WHAT DID YOU SAY DAD?" yelled Leo

"Apollo, fix him now," said Artemis

"Okay," said Apollo as he snapped his fingers, "All better."

"I can hear you properly now," said Leo to Apollo, before asking his dad, "So what were you saying?"

"Never mind boy," said Hephaestus

**My dream-self was slow to respond. I was still looking around, taking in the stalactite ceiling, the stench of sheep and goats, the growling and grumbling and bleating sounds that seemed to echo from behind a refrigerator-sized boulder, which was blocking the room's only exit, as if there were a much larger cavern beyond it.**

**"Percy?" Grover said. "Please, I don't have the strength to project any better. You**_**have**___**to hear me!"**

**"I hear you," I said. "Grover, what's going on?"**

**From behind the boulder, a monstrous voice yelled, "Honeypie! Are you done yet?"**

**Grover flinched. He called out in falsetto, "Not quite, dearest! A few more days!"**

"Until what?" asked Apollo

"Another wedding?" asked Aphrodite, ready in another dress and forcing Hephaestus into a suit

"Nope, not another wedding," said Percy

"Sorry Lady Aphrodite," said Annabeth

**"Bah! Hasn't it been two weeks yet?"**

**"N-no, dearest. Just five days. That leaves twelve more to go."**

"Is that satyr really that bad at math?" asked Athena

"No," said Percy, "that Cyclops is just really dumb."

"I thought you didn't like it when Cyclopes were insulted," said Luke

"No," said Percy, "I said that I didn't like it when Tyson was insulted. I'll admit, there are a few Cyclops out there that are bad, but not all."

**The monster was silent, maybe trying to do the math. He must've been worse at arithmetic than I was, because he said, "All right, but hurry! I want to SEEEEE under that veil, heh-heh-heh."**

"Wow," said Athena, "that Cyclops really is that dumb. Who is it?"

"Wait a minute," said Apollo, "Five plus twelve doesn't equal fourteen. It equals seventeen."

"Good job Apollo," said Artemis, "you get a cookie."

A girl scouts cookie then appeared in front of Apollo and he quickly grabbed it and stuffed it in his mouth, not noticing the looks he was getting. Artemis, however, did.

"We made a deal," she said, "if he's able to figure something out all on his own, then I give him a reward, most of the time a cookie."

**Grover turned back to me. "You have to help me! No time! I'm stuck in this cave. On an island in the sea."**

"That clears it up," said Hera

**"**_**Where?"**_

**"I don't know exactly! I went to Florida and turned left."**

"That's not right," said Leo, "You have to go to Florida and go right, then another right, then take a left, then do a loop-de-loop, before taking one last left and arriving at your destination."

"What are you talking about?" asked Grover

"How to get to Japan," said Leo

"Florida and Japan aren't even close to each other," said Percy, "Florida is on the Southern Coast of US, while Japan is 469.9 Nautical Miles from China."

"That's the same as 540.7 miles," said PJ, "wait, how did I know that?"

"You have perfect bearings at sea," said Percy

"So that's why you knew where we were while we on the boat," said Hazel

"Yeah," said Percy

"The Romans have a boat?" asked Annabeth

"Not anymore," said Percy

"What do you mean?" asked AJ

"It broke apart during our quest," said Percy

"Do you ever get a break?" asked Thalia

"I got Annabeth, didn't I?" asked Percy, causing Annabeth to blush

**"What? How did you—"**

**"It's a trap!" Grover said. "It's the reason no satyr has ever returned from this quest. He's a shepherd, Percy! And he**_**has**___**it. Its nature magic is**_**so**___**powerful it smells just like the great god Pan! The satyrs come here thinking they've found Pan, and they get trapped and eaten by Polyphemus!"**

"Poly-who?" asked Leo

**"Poly-who?"**

**"The Cyclops!" Grover said, exasperated. "I almost got away. I made it all the way to St. Augustine."**

**"But he followed you," I said, remembering my first dream. "And trapped you in a bridal boutique."**

**"That's right," Grover said. "My first empathy link must've worked then. Look, this bridal dress is the only thing keeping me alive. He thinks I smell good, but I told him it was just goat-scented perfume.**

"I don't even have perfume," snorted Grover

**Thank goodness he can't see very well. His eye is still half blind from the last time somebody poked it out.**

"Who poked his eye out?" asked Piper

"Nobody," said Percy, smirking at Annabeth, who was also smirking. Grover was still embarrassed over having to wear a wedding dress while being exposed to sheep meat to smirk at Annabeth, though he did look at her momentarily.

**But soon he'll realize what I am. He's only giving me two weeks to finish the bridal train, and he's getting impatient!"**

**"Wait a minute. This Cyclops thinks you're—"**

"Sexy?" asked Leo, "because that's totally wrong. No one can take my title!"

"What title?" asked Thalia, "The Over-ADHD idiot weirdo?"

"Exactly," said Leo, causing everyone to laugh, before realizing what Thalia said, "What no! Not that title! I meant the title that said I'm sexy!"

"That title's a liar," said Thalia, causing everyone to laugh again

**"Yes!" Grover wailed. "He thinks I'm a lady Cyclops and he wants to marry me!"**

**Under different circumstances, I might've bursted out laughing, but Grover's voice was deadly serious. He was shaking with fear.**

**"I'll come rescue you," I promised. "Where are you?"**

**"The Sea of Monsters, of course!"**

"You know it would have worked better if you connected it with Annabeth, right?" asked Nico

"Yeah, maybe," said Grover, "but I didn't want her to check up on me every three minutes and overload me with architectural facts and other stuff."

"I feel you G-man," said Percy

**"The sea of**_**what?"**_

**"I told you! I don't know exactly where! And look, Percy ... urn, I'm really sorry about this, but this empathy link ... well, I had no choice. Our emotions are connected now. If I die ..."**

**"Don't tell me, I'll die too."**

**"Oh, well, perhaps not. You might live for years in a vegetative state.**

"That's even worse," said Thalia

"I thought you only ate vegetables while you're with the Hunters," said Leo

"We don't," said Thalia, "We eat deer meat, and the occasional bunny rabbit meat."

"Good," said Grover in all seriousness, "the world needs less of those bullies."

"Grover, I thought we cured you of that phobia," said Percy

**But, uh, it would be a lot better if you got me out of here."**

**"Honeypie!" the monster bellowed. "Dinnertime! Yummy yummy sheep meat!"**

"That's going to be torture for you," said Nico

"You have no idea," said Grover, "I actually was able to give the sheep meat to the sheep while eating grass."

**Grover whimpered. "I have to go. Hurry!"**

**"Wait! You said 'it' was here. What?"**

**But Grover's voice was already growing fainter. "Sweet dreams. Don't let me die!"**

"Nice send off you have there," said AJ

"It was the best I could do," said Grover, "plus, I didn't know what time it was there."

**The dream faded and I woke with a start. It was early morning. Tyson was staring down at me, his one big brown eye full of concern.**

**"Are you okay?" he asked.**

**His voice sent a chill down my back, because he sounded almost exactly like the monster I'd heard in my dream.**

"So Tyson _is_ the monster?" asked Luke

"The only monster I'll see will be your face if you don't _shut up_!" said Percy

**The morning of the race was hot and humid. Fog lay low on the ground like sauna steam. Millions of birds were roosting in the trees—fat gray-and-white pigeons, except they didn't coo like regular pigeons. They made this annoying metallic screeching sound that reminded me of submarine radar.**

"How would you know how that sounds like?" asked Leo, "Have you ever been on a submarine? And I thought that submarines were sandwiches, so how would you know how that sounds like?"

"Um, okay, let's see," said Percy, "My dad's Poseidon, so I know what water-related things sound like, for example conches, submarine radars, boats, etc.; no, I've never been on a submarine; and I wasn't talking about those submarines."

"Thank you, that is all," said Leo, turning back to the gods.

"What's wrong with your kid?" asked Athena

"I don't know," said Hephaestus, unsurely

**The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods. Hephaestus's cabin had used the bronze bulls, which were completely tame since they'd had their heads smashed in, to plow an oval track in a matter of minutes.**

"So that's what they used the bulls for," said Leo

**There were rows of stone steps for the spectators— Tantalus, the satyrs, a few dryads, and all of the campers who weren't participating. Mr. D didn't show. He never got up before ten o'clock.**

"Never found a reason to," said Dionysus after noticing the stares he was getting.

**"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. A naiad had brought him a big platter of pastries, and as Tantalus spoke, his right hand chased a chocolate eclair across the judge's table.**

"Did the winner ever get the éclair?" asked Luke

"No, the winner didn't," said Percy

**"You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!"**

"They're actually going through with this?" asked Frank

**Tantalus smiled at us like we were all naughty children. "Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week!**

"That's terrible punishment!" said Hazel, "In our camp, you get thrown into the water in a sack full of weasels, and that's the lightest punishment we have!"

**Now ready your chariots!"**

**Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track.**

**They had a sweet ride made of bronze and iron—even the horses, which were magical automatons like the Colchis bulls. I had no doubt that their chariot had all kinds of mechanical traps and more fancy options than a fully loaded Maserati.**

Hephaestus and Leo beamed with pride

**The Ares chariot was bloodred, and pulled by two grisly horse skeletons.****Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, caltrops, and a bunch of other nasty toys.**

Now Ares beamed with pride, though he looked like he was trying to impress Aphrodite, who looked like she wouldn't even give him the time of day.

**Apollo's chariot was trim and graceful and completely gold, pulled by two beautiful palominos.**

"I like palominos," nodded Apollo

**Their fighter was armed with a bow, though he had promised not to shoot regular pointed arrows at the opposing drivers.**

**Hermes's chariot was green and kind of old-looking,**

**as if it hadn't been out of the garage in years. It didn't look like anything special, but it was manned by the Stoll brothers, and I shuddered to think what dirty tricks they'd schemed up.**

Hermes smiled devilishly, causing the nearby deities to scoot as far away as they could

**That left two chariots: one driven by Annabeth, and the other by me.**

**Before the race began, I tried to approach Annabeth and tell her about my dream.**

"Key word: _tried_," said Thalia

**She perked up when I mentioned Grover, but when I told her what he'd said, she seemed to get distant again, suspicious.**

**"You're trying to distract me," she decided.**

Nico, Thalia, and Grover face=palmed.

"Are you serious?" asked Thalia

"Sorry," said Annabeth, "I wasn't thinking straight."

**"What? No I'm not!"**

**"Oh, right! Like Grover would just happen to stumble across the**_**one**___**thing that could save the camp."**

"Glad you have so much faith in me," grumbled Grover

Annabeth smiled at him sheepishly

**"What do you mean?"**

**She rolled her eyes. "Go back to your chariot, Percy."**

**"I'm not making this up. He's in trouble, Annabeth."**

**She hesitated. I could tell she was trying to decide whether or not to trust me. Despite our occasional fights,**

"You guys have fights?" asked Leo

"All the time," said Nico, "I mean, before Percy disappeared, that is."

"And it would be over the simplest things too," said Thalia

"No it wouldn't," said Annabeth

"Yeah it would Annabeth," said Percy, "don't lie."

"I'm not lying!" said Annabeth, "They're important topics!"

"Like the tuna sandwich from Subways?" **(Not mine!)** asked Percy

"What?" asked Annabeth, "I like tuna!"

"I don't doubt it," said Percy, "I just asked you to not eat it while I'm around, that's all."

"Maybe I wanted to eat that tuna sandwich that day," said Annabeth

"Then you could have ate it while I wasn't around," said Percy

"Well, maybe I was hungry then," said Annabeth

"I remember you specifically saying that you weren't hungry at that time," said Percy

"How could you possibly remember what I said?" asked Annabeth, "You can barely remember what day it is."

"Sorry for actually wanting to listen to my beautiful girlfriend, who apparently likes to torture me in public restaurants," said Percy, huffing

"I don't like to torture you," said Annabeth

"Please," said Nico, "you basically torture him every day. I can tell, because I'd see you two leaning in to kiss, which I still don't like seeing by the way, and Annabeth'll pull out at the last second, and Percy would have a look of pure sadness before chasing after her."

Annabeth then looked at Percy, who was looking at anywhere but her, when she apologized for the nth time that day.

"It's fine," said Percy, "it wouldn't be you if you didn't."

"I was just trying to have fun," said Annabeth, who then whispered so that only her and Percy could hear, "if it's any consolation, I hate it too when I do that."

"Then why'd you do it?" asked Percy, in the same whisper

"So we could have some fun," said Annabeth, "I mean, we haven't had any fun since you-know-who tried to rise up, so I was trying to make up for it."

"You know there are better ways than torturing your boyfriend," said Percy, making Annabeth smile, "I realize it know, Seaweed Brain. Sorry about earlier."

Percy accepted her apology with a kiss, which Annabeth deepened, and they started making out for two minutes before Thalia coughed. They broke apart, blushing, when Luke asked, "Do they always do that?"

"Oh, yeah," nodded Thalia

"Big time," agreed Nico

"Okay, back to the book," said AJ, not wanting to see herself make out with her new best friend.

**we'd been through a lot together. And I knew she would never want anything bad to happen to Grover.**

"Nope," said AJ, while Annabeth agreed, "Never."

**"Percy, an empathy link is so hard to do. I mean, it's more likely you really were dreaming."**

**"The Oracle," I said. "We could consult the Oracle."**

**Annabeth frowned.**

**Last summer, before my quest, I'd visited the strange spirit that lived in the Big House attic and it had given me a prophecy that came true in ways I'd never expected. The experience had freaked me out for months. Annabeth knew I'd never suggest going back there if I wasn't completely serious.**

"It is spooky," said Annabeth

"So, I do get a quest to lead?" asked AJ

"Yup," said Annabeth

**Before she could answer, the conch horn sounded.**

**"Charioteers!" Tantalus called. "To your mark!"**

**"We'll talk later," Annabeth told me,**_**"after**___**I win."**

**As I was walking back to my own chariot, I noticed how many more pigeons were in the trees now—screeching like crazy, making the whole forest rustle. Nobody else seemed to be paying them much attention, but they made me nervous.**

**Their beaks glinted strangely. Their eyes seemed shinier than regular birds.**

"I actually noticed," said Annabeth, "but I thought that they wouldn't attack us."

**Tyson was having trouble getting our horses under control. I had to talk to them a long time before they would settle down.**

_**He's a monster, lord!**___**they complained to me.**

_**He's a son of Poseidon,**___**I told them.**_**Just like ... well, just like me.**_

_**No!**___**They insisted.**_**Monster! Horse-eater! Not trusted!**_

"I just realized that they could have been talking about the birds," said Percy

"That could be true," said Annabeth

_**I'll give you sugar cubes at the end of the race,**___**I said.**

_**Sugar cubes?**_

_**Very big sugar cubes. And apples. Did I mention the apples?**_

**Finally they agreed to let me harness them.**

**Now, if you've never seen a Greek chariot, it's built for speed, not safety or comfort. It's basically a wooden basket, open at the back, mounted on an axle between two wheels. The driver stands up the whole time, and you can feel every bump in the road. The carriage is made of such light**_**wood**___**that if you wipe out making the hairpin turns at either end of the track, you'll probably tip over and crush both the chariot and yourself.**

**It's an even better rush than skate boarding.**

"Of course it is," said Annabeth

"You skateboard?" asked PJ

"I used to," said Annabeth, "before it got stolen by one of the Hermes campers."

No one noticed Luke's guilty look as he stared at the ground

"I still have mine, and I can skateboard," said AJ

"We're so going skateboarding next time we're in New York," said PJ, while AJ high-fived in agreement.

**I took the reins and maneuvered the chariot to the starting line. I gave Tyson a ten-foot pole and told him that his job was to push the other chariots away if they got too close, and to deflect anything they might try to throw at us.**

**"No hitting ponies with the stick," he insisted.**

**"No," I agreed. "Or people, either, if you can help it. We're going to run a clean race. Just keep the distractions away and let me concentrate on driving."**

**"We will win." He beamed.**

**We are**_**so**___**going to lose,**

"Way to stick to the positives," said Nico

**I thought to myself, but I**_**had**___**to try. I wanted to show the others ... well, I wasn't sure what, exactly. That Tyson wasn't such a bad guy? That I wasn't ashamed of being seen with him in public? Maybe that they hadn't hurt me with all their jokes and name-calling?**

"Well, you honestly showed them at the end of that summer," said Annabeth

**As the chariots lined up, more shiny-eyed pigeons gathered in the woods. They were screeching so loudly the campers in the stands were starting to take notice, glancing nervously at the trees, which shivered under the weight of the birds.**

**Tantalus didn't look concerned, but he did have to speak up to be heard over the noise.**

"Of course he didn't look concerned," said Athena, "the cannibalistic child-eater probably wanted you guys to get hurt."

**"Charioteers!" he shouted. "Attend your mark!"**

**He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots roared to life. Hooves thundered against the dirt. The crowd cheered.**

**Almost immediately there was a loud nasty**_**crack!**___**I looked back in time to see the Apollo chariot flip over.**

Apollo looked down, which didn't go unnoticed by Hermes, who patted his back in comfort.

**The Hermes chariot had rammed into it—maybe by mistake, maybe not.**

**The riders were thrown free, but their panicked horses dragged the golden chariot diagonally across the track. The Hermes team, Travis and Connor Stoll, were laughing at their good luck, but not for long.**

**The Apollo horses crashed into theirs, and the Hermes chariot flipped too, leaving a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust.**

Now it was Hermes turn to look down and Apollo to comfort him.

**Two chariots down in the first twenty feet. I loved this sport.**

**I turned my attention back to the front. We were making good time, pulling ahead of Ares, but Annabeth's chariot was way ahead of us.**

"Of course," said Athena, "because Annabeth's going to win."

**She was already making her turn around the first post, her javelin man grinning and waving at us, shouting: "See ya!"**

**The Hephaestus chariot was starting to gain on us, too.**

**Beckendorf pressed a button, and a panel slid open on the side of his chariot.**

**"Sorry, Percy!" he yelled. Three sets of balls and chains shot straight toward our wheels.**

"Good," said Hephaestus, "aim for the wheels, and you have a better chance at overtaking them."

**They would've wrecked us completely if Tyson hadn't whacked them aside with a quick swipe of his pole. He gave the Hephaestus chariot a good shove and sent them skittering sideways while we pulled ahead.**

**"Nice work, Tyson!" I yelled.**

**"Birds!" he cried.**

**"What?"**

**We were whipping along so fast it was hard to hear or see anything, but Tyson pointed toward the woods and I saw what he was worried about. The pigeons had risen from the trees. They were spiraling like a huge tornado, heading toward the track.**

_**No big deal,**___**I told myself.**_**They're just pigeons.**_

"If only they were," said Percy

"What were they?" asked Athena

"Stymphalian birds," said Annabeth, and all the gods with children participating in the race went pale.

**I tried to concentrate on the race.** **We made our first turn, the wheels creaking under us, the chariot threatening to tip, but we were now only ten feet behind Annabeth. If I could just get a little closer, Tyson could use his pole….**

**Annabeth's fighter wasn't smiling now. He pulled a javelin from his collection and took aim at me. He was about to throw when we heard the screaming.**

**The pigeons were swarming—thousands of them dive-bombing the spectators in the stands, attacking the other chariots. Beckendorf was mobbed.**

"Please tell me he makes it," said Hephaestus

"He makes it, Lord Hephaestus," said Percy, "don't worry."

**His fighter tried to bat the birds away but he couldn't see anything. The chariot veered off course and plowed through the strawberry fields, the mechanical horses steaming.**

**In the Ares chariot, Clarisse barked an order to her fighter, who quickly threw a screen of camouflage netting over their basket. The birds swarmed around it, pecking and clawing at the fighter's hands as he tried to hold up the net, but Clarisse just gritted her teeth and kept driving.**

"So that's how she was able to get past them," whispered Annabeth

**Her skeletal horses seemed immune to the distraction. The pigeons pecked uselessly at their empty eye sockets and flew through their rib cages, but the stallions kept right on running.**

**The spectators weren't so lucky. The birds were slashing at any bit of exposed flesh, driving everyone into a panic. Now that the birds were closer, it was clear they weren't normal pigeons.**

**Their eyes were beady and evil-looking. Their beaks were made of bronze, and judging from the yelps of the campers, they must've been razor sharp.**

"Even sharper," said Athena

**"Stymphalian birds!" Annabeth yelled. She slowed down and pulled her chariot alongside mine. "They'll strip everyone to bones if we don't drive them away!"**

**"Tyson," I said, "we're turning around!"**

**"Going the wrong way?" he asked.**

"Always," said Poseidon, Percy, and PJ, all of which smiled at each other.

**"Always," I grumbled,**

"Like father, like son," said Zeus, while Thalia said, "They're so similar, don't you think?"

"Like father, like daughter," said Percy

**but I steered the chariot toward the stands.**

**Annabeth rode right next to me. She shouted, "Heroes, to arms!" But I wasn't sure anyone could hear her over the screeching of the birds and the general chaos.**

**I held my reins in one hand and managed to draw Riptide as a wave of birds dived at my face,**

**their metal beaks snapping. I slashed them out of the air and they exploded into dust and feathers, but there were still millions of them left. One nailed me in the back end and I almost jumped straight out of the chariot.**

"Please tell me Annabeth's fine," said Athena

**Annabeth wasn't having much better luck.**

"That's not telling me she's fine," said Athena

"Quiet you," snapped Poseidon, "it's my job to worry about my child outwardly."

**The closer we got to the stands, the thicker the cloud of birds became.**

**Some of the spectators were trying to fight back. The Athena campers were calling for shields. The archers from Apollo's cabin brought out their bows and arrows, ready to slay the menace, but with so many campers mixed in with the birds, it wasn't safe to shoot.**

**"Too many!" I yelled to Annabeth. "How do you get rid of them?"**

"Typical," said Thalia

"If one of them doesn't know how," said Nico, "the other better."

"Or we're pretty much screwed," said Grover

**She stabbed at a pigeon with her knife. "Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could—"**

**Her eyes got wide. "Percy ... Chiron's collection!"**

"That's not nice," said Apollo

"You've obviously haven't listened to Dean Martin," said AJ

"Justin Beaver is worse," said Percy

"They're close," said Annabeth

"I thought they were gay," said Nico

"Nico don't use that word with that meaning," said Thalia, "there are children here."

**I understood instantly. "You think it'll work?"**

**She handed her fighter the reins and leaped from her chariot into mine like it was the easiest thing in the world.**

"It was pretty hard," said Annabeth

"I bet you had calculated it all out," said Percy

"Oh yeah, big time," said Annabeth

**"To the Big House! It's our only chance!"**

**Clarisse has just pulled across the finish line,**

**completely unopposed, and seemed to notice for the first time how serious the bird problem was.**

"Talk about committed," said Hermes

**When she saw us driving away, she yelled, "You're**_**running?**___**The fight is here, cowards!"**

**She drew her sword and charged for the stands.**

**I urged our horses into a gallop. The chariot rumbled through the strawberry fields,**

**across the volleyball pit, and lurched to a halt in front of the Big House. Annabeth and I ran inside, tearing down the hallway to Chiron's apartment.**

**His boom box was still on his nightstand. So were his favorite CDs. I grabbed the most repulsive one I could find,**

"Which probably took you like 10 seconds," said Athena, "10 seconds that you could have spent running back."

"Actually, they're all pretty repulsive," said Annabeth

"So that statement just means I snatched the first one I could find," said Percy

**Annabeth snatched the boom box, and together we ran back outside.**

**Down at the track, the chariots were in flames. Wounded campers ran in every direction, with birds shredding their clothes and pulling out their hair,**

"The Aphrodite campers would be the worst," said Nico

"I'd actually would have thought that they would try to kill the birds," said Percy, "you know, for ruining their clothes or something."

**while Tantalus chased breakfast pastries around the stands, every once in a while yelling, "Everything's under control! Not to worry.'"**

Everybody face-palmed, while Athena mumbled, "Idiot."

**We pulled up to the finish line. Annabeth got the boom box ready. I prayed the batteries weren't dead.**

**I pressed PLAY and started up Chiron's favorite—the**_**All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin.**___**Suddenly the air was filled with violins and a bunch of guys moaning in Italian.**

**The demon pigeons went nuts.**

**They started flying in circles, running into each other like they wanted to bash their own brains out.**

"I bet you they did," said PJ

**Then they abandoned the track altogether and flew skyward in a huge dark wave.**

**"Now!" shouted Annabeth. "Archers!"**

**With clear targets, Apollo's archers had flawless aim.**

"Of course they did," said Apollo, "they are my children."

**Most of them could notch five or six arrows at once. Within minutes, the ground was littered with dead bronze-beaked pigeons, and the survivors were a distant trail of smoke on the horizon.**

**The camp was saved, but the wreckage wasn't pretty. Most of the chariots had been completely destroyed.**

**Almost everyone was wounded, bleeding from multiple bird pecks. The kids from Aphrodite's cabin were screaming because their hairdos had been ruined and their clothes pooped on.**

"That was my other guess," said Percy

**"Bravo!" Tantalus said, but he wasn't looking at me or Annabeth. "We have our first winner!" He walked to the finish line and awarded the golden laurels for the race to a stunned-looking Clarisse.**

**Then he turned and smiled at me. "And now to punish the troublemakers who disrupted this race."**

"Troublemakers?" asked Poseidon


	9. Chapter 9

**I Accept Gifts from a Stranger**

"You should have stolen those gifts," said Hermes

"I'm not sure if I could have," said Percy

"Why not?" asked Hermes

"You'll see," said Percy

**The way Tantalus saw it, the Stymphalian birds had simply been minding their own business in the woods and would not have attacked if Annabeth, Tyson, and I hadn't disturbed them with our bad chariot driving.**

"Bad driving me butt," said Poseidon

"I bet you two weren't that bad at all," said Athena

"I know for a fact that those two aren't as bad as others when it comes to their relationship," said Nico

"How do you know this?" asked Percy

"Have you been spying on us?" asked Annabeth

"What-, no! Ask anyone here," said Nico, "and I mean anyone who has actually seen you two during your relationship. All you guys do is make out!"

"how would you know?" asked Annabeth

"Have you been spying on us when we're in our cabin?" asked Percy

"Wha-why would you think that?" asked Nico, "I don't spy on you guys! The Stolls do, and tell the rest of us of whatever you guys do in there."

"We'll talk later," said Annabeth

Nico started to protest, but the stern look on Annabeth's face and the warning look on Percy's made him shut up. Instead, he leaned over to Frank, and asked, "Should I be worried?"

"Probably," said Frank, "though I don't know Annabeth as much as you do, so I suggest asking someone else."

"Right," said Nico, before turning to Grover, "Should I be worried?"

"Very much," said Grover

Nico gulped, while Hermes, Apollo, and Leo were stifling laughs about how Nico got 'owned by a girl'.

**This was so completely unfair, I told Tantalus to go chase a doughnut, which didn't help his mood.**

"Of course it didn't," said Thalia

"But it was hilarious," said Annabeth

**He sentenced us to kitchen patrol—scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that extra-clean sparkle and kill ninety-nine point nine percent of all germs, so Annabeth and I had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons.**

"That's your punishment?" asked Frank, "Man, your camp is so much more lax than ours."

"Yeah," said Annabeth, "you see, the Greeks place more emphasis on art and culture, while the Romans put more emphasis on military and gaining more land."

**Tyson didn't mind. He plunged his bare hands right in and started scrubbing, but Annabeth and I had to suffer through hours of hot, dangerous work, especially since there were tons of extra plates. Tantalus had ordered a special luncheon banquet to celebrate Clarisse's chariot victory—a full-course meal featuring country-fried Stymphalian death-bird.**

"How was it?" asked Leo

"We don't know," said Percy, "we were too busy cleaning plates from the banquet because Tantalus was too much of an idiot to realize what we need."

**The only good thing about our punishment was that it gave Annabeth and me a common enemy and lots of time to talk.**

"If only we could have lots of time in our time period, right Seaweed Brain?" asked Annabeth

"Of course, Wise Girl," said Percy

**After listening to my dream about Grover again, she looked like she might be starting to believe me.**

"Now, why wouldn't you believe him in the first place?" asked Frank

"Yeah, he has a lot of good ideas," said Hazel

"You see, he's kind of an idiot when it comes to our world," said Annabeth, "but he's gotten better."

**"If he's really found it," she murmured, "and if we could retrieve it—"**

**"Hold on," I said. "You act like this ... whatever-it-is Grover found is the only thing in the world that could save the camp. What **_**is **_**it?"**

**"I'll give you a hint. What do you get when you skin a ram?"**

"A dead animal?" asked Grover, looking slightly sick.

"A naked ram?" asked Leo, who promptly got hit by Piper

"A mess?" asked Hazel, Nico, Thalia, and Jason

"You're all wrong," said AJ

"I bet you that it's not even what you expect," said PJ

**"Mess?"**

"Weird," said Hermes, "all the children of the Big Three in the future thought the same thing."

**She sighed. **_**"**_**A **_**fleece. **_**The coat of a ram is called a fleece. And if that ram happens to have golden wool—"**

**"The Golden Fleece. Are you serious?"**

**Annabeth scrapped a plateful of death-bird bones into the lava. "Percy, remember the Gray Sisters? They said they knew the location of the thing you seek. And they mentioned Jason. Three thousand years ago, they told **_**him **_**how to find the Golden Fleece. You **_**do **_**know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?"**

"I just realized," said Leo, "once Percy, and whoever the rest of the number we need are, come on board with us, then we can call ourselves Jason and the Argonauts II."

"I prefer Percy and the Septnautanilors," said Annabeth

"I'm guessing that Septnautanilors," said PJ

"Has something to do with seven, water, sailors, and air," finished Percy

"Yup," said AJ, "she probably means something along the lines of seven airship travelers."

"Oh yeah," said Annabeth, "big time."

"Is anyone else finding it weird that all four of them answered some of our questions?" asked Leo

Hermes and Apollo immediately raised their hands.

**"Yeah," I said. "That old movie with the clay skeletons."**

**Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, Percy! You are so hopeless.**

Thalia had to bite her tongue to stop herself from commenting negatively.

**"**_**What?" **_**I demanded.**

**"Just listen. The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important."**

"It was probably important to her," said PJ, Nico, Thalia, Hazel, and Jason, which caused Percy to snort and Annabeth to roll her eyes.

AJ, however, said, "That's not even the point."

**"It was probably important to her."**

**"The **_**point **_**is, when Cadmus got to Colchis, he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree in the middle of the kingdom. The Fleece brought prosperity to the land. Animals stopped getting sick. Plants grew better. Farmers had bumper crops. Plagues never visited. That's why Jason wanted the Fleece. It can revitalize any land where it's placed. It cures sickness, strengthens nature, cleans up pollution—"**

**"It could cure Thalia's tree."**

**Annabeth nodded. "And it would totally strengthen the borders of Camp Half-Blood. But Percy, the Fleece has been missing for centuries. Tons of heroes have searched for it with no luck."**

"Probably because they didn't look hard enough," said Zeus

"Doesn't matter how hard you look if you don't look in the right places," said Percy wisely, earning some looks. Athena and AJ looked at him as if he had grown two heads, while Poseidon beamed at Athena and Annabeth smiled smugly at Thalia and Nico, who knew that this just helped prove her point about Percy believing whatever they tell him.

**"But Grover found it," I said. "He went looking for Pan and he found the Fleece instead because they both radiate nature magic. It makes sense, Annabeth. We can rescue him and save the camp at the same time. It's perfect!"**

"A little _too_ perfect, don't you think?" asked AJ, "What if it's a trap?"

"Then My Lord'll probably have me waiting for them somewhere, somehow," said Luke

**Annabeth hesitated. "A little **_**too **_**perfect, don't you think? What if it's a trap?"**

**I remembered last summer, how Kronos had manipulated our quest. He'd almost fooled us into helping him start a war that would've destroyed Western Civilization.**

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way," said Percy, grimly, "really helped gain the favor of my Uncle."

"Don't you use sarcasm with me," said Luke, "you're wasting your time helping these gods."

**"What choice do we have?" I asked. "Are you going to help me rescue Grover or not?"**

**She glanced at Tyson, who'd lost interest in our conversation and was happily making toy boats out of cups and spoons in the lava.**

Many of the goddesses smiled at this.

**"Percy," she said under her breath, "we'll have to fight a Cyclops. Polyphemus, the **_**worst **_**of the Cyclopes. And there's only one place his island could be. The Sea of Monsters."**

**"Where's that?"**

**She stared at me like she thought I was playing dumb.**

"Sorry," said Annabeth, "I tended to forget that you didn't have much background with our world back then."

**"The Sea of Monsters. The same sea Odysseus sailed through, and Jason, and Aeneas, and all the others."**

"The Mediterranean?" asked PJ

**"You mean the Mediterranean?"**

"He doesn't change much, does he?" asked Thalia

**"No. Well, yes ... but no."**

"Thanks for that straight answer Annabeth," said PJ

"You obviously forgot that the Sea of Monsters probably shifted locations," said AJ

**"Another straight answer. Thanks."**

**"Look, Percy, the Sea of Monsters is the sea all heroes sail through on their adventures. It used to be in the Mediterranean, yes. But like everything else, it shifts locations as the West's center of power shifts."**

**"Like Mount Olympus being above the Empire State Building," I said. "And Hades being under Los Angeles."**

"But he's right here," said PJ, pointing his thumb towards the Lord of the Dead.

"Hades is also another name for the Underworld," said AJ

**"Right."**

**"But a whole sea full of monsters—how could you hide something like that? Wouldn't the mortals notice weird things happening ... like, ships getting eaten and stuff?"**

**"Of course they notice. They don't understand, but they know something is strange about that part of the ocean. The Sea of Monsters is off the east coast of the U.S. now, just northeast of Florida. The mortals even have a name for it."**

"The Bermuda Triangle?" asked PJ

"Yup," nodded Annabeth

**"The Bermuda Triangle?"**

**"Exactly."**

**I let that sink in. I guess it wasn't stranger than anything else I'd learned since coming to Camp Half-Blood. "Okay ... so at least we know where to look."**

**"It's still a huge area, Percy. Searching for one tiny island in monster-infested waters—"**

"Hey, if I'm the son of the sea god," said PJ, "wouldn't it be easier, since we're on _my_ home turf?"

**"Hey, I'm the son of the sea god. This is my home turf. How hard can it be?"**

**Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "We'll have to talk to Tantalus, get approval for a quest. He'll say no."**

**"Not if we tell him tonight at the campfire in front of everybody. The whole camp will hear. They'll pressure him. He won't be able to refuse."**

"Of course he won't," said Athena, "if he said no, then the campers would revolt, and he'd get kicked out, which would probably ruin his chances of being able to get food for a while."

**"Maybe." A little bit of hope crept into Annabeth's voice**_**. **_**"We'd better get these dishes done. Hand me the lava spray gun, will you?"**

**That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along. **

**They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. We all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the Apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.**

**We **_**did **_**all the standard camp numbers: "Down by the Aegean," "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa," "This Land is Minos's Land."**

**The bonfire was enchanted, so the louder you sang, the higher it rose, changing color and heat with the mood of the crowd. On a good night, I'd seen it twenty feet high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames. Tonight, the fire was only five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint.**

"Never liked lint," said Nico, "always tasted funny and never freshened my mouth."

"Are you talking about _mint_?" asked Thalia

"No, of course not," said Nico, "mint is so overrated. I thought it was obvious that I was talking about lint."

Nico was responded with stares of confusion, which caused him to get confused. Everyone then snapped out of it as the robot started reading again.

**Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. Then he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House.**

"Sounds like old Dio doesn't like him anymore," said Apollo

**When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely!"**

**He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.**

Everyone then started laughing, as Hermes pouted, "Do you know how many pranks I could pull with suicidal food?"

**Tantalus turned back toward us, smiling coldly. "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."**

**"Sir," I said.**

**Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our kitchen boy has something to say?"**

**Some of the Ares campers snickered, but I wasn't going to let anybody embarrass me into silence. I stood and looked at Annabeth. Thank the gods, she stood up with me.**

"It looked like you needed help," shrugged Annabeth

**I said, "We have an idea to save the camp."**

**Dead silence, but I could tell I'd gotten everybody's interest, because the campfire flared bright yellow.**

**"Indeed," Tantalus said blandly. "Well, if it has anything to do with chariots—"**

**"The Golden Fleece," I said. "We know where it is."**

**The flames burned orange. Before Tantalus could stop me, I blurted out my dream about Grover and Polyphemus's island. Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do. It sounded more convincing coming from her.**

"Of course it did," said AJ, "I have been there the longest."

**"The Fleece can save the camp," she concluded. "I'm certain of it."**

**"Nonsense," said Tantalus. "We don't need saving."**

"WHAT?" roared Zeus, "MY DAUGHTER IS DYING AND THAT SON OF A GUN SAYS THAT THEY DON'T NEED SAVING!"

"Please tell me that this Tantalus guy gets fired for the sake of any mortals possibly getting zapped right now," said Hera, rubbing her temples

"Don't worry," said Percy, stopping Annabeth from saying something disrespectful to Hera, "Chiron is reinstated as our activities director again."

"Good," said Zeus, "Afterwards, remind me to increase Tantalus's punishment."

**Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable.**

**"Besides," he added quickly, "the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look."**

**"Yes, I would," I said.**

**Annabeth leaned toward me and whispered, "You would?"**

**I nodded, because Annabeth had jogged something in my memory when she reminded me about our taxi drive with the Gray Sisters. At the time, the information they'd given me made no sense. But now ...**

"So, the coordinates given by the crazy ladies with only one eye," said PJ, "is where the Golden Fleece, right? I'm guessing it's somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida."

Percy discreetly winked at his younger form, while zipping his mouth shut.

**"30, 31, 75, 12," I said.**

**"Ooo-kay," Tantalus said. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."**

"They're not meaningless if you know how to use them," said Athena

**"They're sailing coordinates," I said. "Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about it in social studies."**

**Even Annabeth looked impressed.**

"I was," said Annabeth, "I didn't think you'd paid attention in class."

"We had the Pacific Ocean as a topic right before that," said Percy, "so I was hoping that my teacher would return to that right after the latitude and longitude stuff."

"Did she?" asked PJ

"Nope," said Percy, popping the 'p'

**"30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"**

**"Wait just a minute," Tantalus said.**

"No, you wait a burger-flipping minute," said Nico, "we need a quest."

"Hey!" said Percy, causing people to look at him strangely, though he didn't back down, "Spongebob **(A/N not mine)** references are for me and Lil' me only."

"Sorry," said Nico, looking apologetic, "I didn't even realize. I was just looking for a food related thing."

"Try Happy Meal references," said Percy

"Why Happy Meal?" asked Demeter, "If Nicky is anything like his father, then he should be all doom and gloom."

"You'll find out in the third or fourth book," said Percy

**But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!"**

**The flames rose higher.**

**"It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.**

"You're face isn't necessary," said Thalia

**"WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"**

**"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?"**

"Nope," said PJ, "we want you to assign hall moniters."

**"YES!"**

**"Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying."**

"When he said 'die trying'," said Annabeth, "I thought he would have chosen us."

"So he didn't choose you?" asked Athena

"That's stupid," said Poseidon, "they figured it out! They should get the quest."

**My heart filled with excitement. I wasn't going to let Tantalus scare me. This was what I needed to do. I was going to save Grover and the camp. Nothing would stop me.**

"And that's exactly what had happened," said Thalia, "two years in a row, except with two different people."

**"I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" Tantalus announced. "And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious."**

**Tantalus looked at Annabeth and me as if he wanted to flay us alive. "The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. **_**You **_**shall lead this quest ... Clarisse!"**

To say everyone was surprised would be an understatement.

**The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"**

**Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest!"**

**"Wait!" I shouted. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to **_**me."**_

**"Sit down!" yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!"**

"They're just jealous," said Thalia, "that they didn't get an opportunity to go."

"I don't think I like my siblings anymore," said Frank

"If it's any consolation," said Percy, "they're technically quarter-siblings."

**"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said.**

**Clarisse glared at me. "I accept the quest!" she repeated. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"**

**The Ares campers cheered even louder. Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers joined in. Everybody else started taking sides—shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. I thought it was going to turn into a full-fledged s'more war until Tantalus shouted, "Silence, you brats!"**

"Awww," said Nico, "now I hate the guy too. He should have let the smores war go."

**His tone stunned even me.**

**"Sit down!" he ordered. "And I will tell you a ghost story."**

**I didn't know what he was up to, but we all moved reluctantly back to our seats. The evil aura radiating from Tantalus was as strong as any monster I'd ever faced.**

**"Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the Gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest, and I got the feeling he was talking about himself.**

"Of course he was," said Athena

**"This king," he said, "was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe—just one little doggie bag, mind you—the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children—just—like— you."**

**He pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, including me.**

**"Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" Tantalus asked softly. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"**

"Let me guess," said Nico, thinking, "your sanity?"

Everyone then either started laughing or cracked a smile.

**No one dared answer. The firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting evilly on Tantalus's crooked face.**

**"Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," Tantalus croaked. "They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so ... are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"**

**Silence.**

**Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."**

**She shifted uncomfortably, like even **_**she **_**didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus's pet. "Sir—"**

"That's what you get for being the pet of such a disgraceful human," said Hazel

"I can think of another one," said Percy, eyeing Luke

"Why are you calling me disgraceful?" demanded Luke

"I wasn't calling you disgraceful," said Percy, "I was thinking of Hercules."

"Hercules?" asked Leo, "Why Hercules? I mean, he completed tasks no one else did."

"Yeah, but that's just about it," said Percy, "do you know how he acted to others? He really was disgraceful, not to mention rude and completely egotistical."

"Why would you say that?" asked Hazel

"Zoe," said Percy, quietly, while Annabeth rubbed his back. Everyone could tell the topic was not open to discussion, as they listened to the robot read on.

**"Go!" he snarled.**

**She bowed awkwardly and hurried off toward the Big House.**

**"What about you Percy Jackson?" Tantalus asked. "No comments from our dishwasher?"**

**I didn't say anything. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of punishing me again.**

**"Good," Tantalus said. "And let me remind everyone— no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries ... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well."**

"Like we're going to be able to sleep well with _that_ guy at camp," snorted PJ

**With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off toward their cabins in the dark.**

**I couldn't explain things to Tyson. He knew I was sad. He knew I wanted to go on a trip and Tantalus wouldn't let me.**

**"You will go anyway?" he asked.**

**"I don't know," I admitted. "It would be hard. Very hard."**

**"I will help."**

**"No. I—uh, I couldn't ask you to do that, big guy. Too dangerous."**

"Just like Perce," said Thalia, "always looking out for others before himself."

**Tyson looked down at the pieces of metal he was assembling in his lap—springs and gears and tiny wires. Beckendorf had given him some tools and spare parts, and now Tyson spent every night tinkering, though I wasn't sure how his huge hands could handle such delicate little pieces.**

**"What are you building?" I asked.**

**Tyson didn't answer. Instead he made a whimpering sound in the back of his throat. "Annabeth doesn't like Cyclopes. You ... don't want me along?"**

"Don't worry," said Annabeth, "I do know."

**"Oh, that's not it," I said halfheartedly. "Annabeth likes you. Really."**

"I do," said Annabeth, "it was just hard for me since I had bad memories come up whenever I saw him."

"It's fine," said Percy, now rubbing Annabeth's back.

**He had tears in the corners of his eye.**

**I remembered that Grover, like all satyrs, could read human emotions. I wondered if Cyclopes had the same ability.**

"I'm not sure," said Poseidon

**Tyson folded up his tinkering project in an oilcloth. He lay down on his bunk bed and hugged his bundle like a teddy bear. When he turned toward the wall, I could see the weird scars on his back, like somebody had plowed over him with a tractor. I wondered for the millionth time how he'd gotten hurt.**

**"Daddy always cared for m-me," he sniffled. "Now ... I think he was mean to have a Cyclops boy. I should not have been born."**

"He may be considered a mistake," said Annabeth

"He was a good mistake," said Percy

"Probably the best mistake of them all," said Thalia

"Even better than Play-Doh," said Nico, getting another round of confused stares, "Play-Doh was accidentally discovered after two guys were trying to make wallpaper cleaner." **(A/N That's actually true, look it up)**

**"Don't talk that way! Poseidon claimed you, didn't he? So ... he must care about you ... a lot..."**

**My voice trailed off as I thought about all those years Tyson had lived on the streets of New York in a cardboard refrigerator box. How could Tyson think that Poseidon had cared for him? What kind of dad let that happen to his kid, even if his kid was a monster?**

**"Tyson ... camp will be a good home for you. The others will get used to you. I promise."**

"And they did," said Thalia

"They love him now," said Grover

**Tyson sighed. I waited for him to say something. Then I realized he was already asleep.**

"He fell asleep that quickly?" asked Hazel

"Tyson could sleep through anything," said Percy

"He's not the only son of Poseidon to do so," said Annabeth

"It's not only children of Poseidon," said Athena

"How do you know this Athena?" asked Hermes

"Is this something I should be concerned aobut?" asked Zeus

"Nonsense," said Aphrodite, "she only knows this because her and Poseidon have secret dates, and she's secretly coming out with it."

"It's not what you think," said Athena, "Poseidon just fell asleep during one of the meetings, and I was the only one who noticed and I had tried to wake him up afterwards."

"So you were the Muse that woke me up?" asked Poseidon

"Sorry?" asked Athena

"Oh," said Poseidon, blushing, "that day, I was weirdly dreaming about the Muses coming underwater and singing a song about Typhon being dragged down to Tartarus by me; monsters being defeated by Demeter, Hades, and Persephone; and Father being defeated by some Olympian child."

The Greek futures (not Piper and Leo) all looked at each other as the song described by Poseidon was eerily similar to what happened in the Second Titan War

**I lay back on my bed and tried to close my eyes, but I just couldn't. I was afraid I might have another dream about Grover. If the empathy link was real ... if something happened to Grover ... would I ever wake up?**

"Maybe," said Dionysus, "empathy links are iffy."

**The full moon shone through my window. The sound of the surf rumbled in the distance. I could smell the warm scent of the strawberry fields, and hear the laughter of the dryads as they chased owls through the forest. But something felt wrong about the night—the sickness of Thalia's tree, spreading across the valley.**

**Could Clarisse save Half-Blood Hill? I thought the odds were better of me getting a "Best Camper" award from Tantalus.**

"And yet you were able to coordinate the campers against a monster army," said Thalia

"What monster army?" asked Poseidon

"It'll come up," said Percy, "don't worry."

**I got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. I grabbed a beach blanket and a six-pack of Coke from under my bunk. The Cokes were against the rules. No outside snacks or drinks were allowed, but if you talked to the right guy in Hermes's cabin and paid him a few golden drachma, he could smuggle in almost anything from the nearest convenience store.**

"Thanks for the tip," said PJ, "it may come in handy when I get to camp."

**Sneaking out after curfew was against the rules, too. If I got caught I'd either get in big trouble or be eaten by the harpies. But I wanted to see the ocean. I always felt better there. My thoughts were clearer. I left the cabin and headed for the beach.**

**I spread my blanket near the surf and popped open a Coke. For some reason sugar and caffeine always calmed down my hyperactive brain.**

"You're brain is weird," said Thalia

"You're age is weird," said Percy

**I tried to decide what to do to save the camp, but nothing came to me. I wished Poseidon would talk to me, give me some advice or something.**

**The sky was clear and starry. I was checking out the constellations Annabeth had taught me—Sagittarius, Hercules, Corona Borealis—when somebody said, "Beautiful, aren't they?"**

"Notice how he recognizes the constellations _Annabeth_ taught him," said Thalia, causing Percy to blush

**I almost spewed soda.**

**Standing right next to me was a guy in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. He looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't figure out why.**

"Why am I there?" asked Hermes, while Luke scowled

**My first thought was that he must've been taking a mid night jog down the beach and strayed inside the camp borders. That wasn't supposed to happen. Regular mortals couldn't enter the valley. **

**But maybe with the tree's magic weakening he'd managed to slip in. But in the middle of the night? And there was nothing around except farmland and state preserves. Where would this guy have jogged from?**

**"May I join you?" he asked. "I haven't sat down in ages."**

"You sit down during meetings," pointed out Athena

"I doubt I counted meetings," said Hermes

**Now, I know—a strange guy in the middle of the night. Common sense: I was supposed to run away, yell for help, etc. But the guy acted so calm about the whole thing that I found it hard to be afraid.**

**I said, "Uh, sure."**

"Thank you," said Hermes

**He smiled. "Your hospitality does you credit. Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?"**

**He sat at the other end of the blanket, popped a soda and took a drink. "Ah ... that hits the spot. Peace and quiet at—"**

**A cell phone went off in his pocket.**

"Of course it did," said Hermes, "I can never get a break."

"You just got one," said Apollo

"That lasted two seconds before my work caught up with me," said Hermes

**The jogger sighed. He pulled out his phone and my eyes got big, because it glowed with a bluish light. When he extended the antenna, two creatures began writhing around it—green snakes, no bigger than earthworms.**

**The jogger didn't seem to notice. **

**He checked his LCD display and cursed. "I've got to take this. Just a sec ..." Then into the phone: "Hello?"**

**He listened. The mini-snakes writhed up and down the antenna right next to his ear.**

**"Yeah," the jogger said. "Listen—I know, but... I don't care if he **_**is **_**chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn't have a tracking number, we can't locate his package... A gift to humankind, great... You know how many of those we deliver—Oh, never mind. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go."**

**He hung up. "Sorry. The overnight express business is just booming. Now, as I was saying—"**

**"You have snakes on your phone."**

**"What? Oh, they don't bite. Say hello, George and Martha."**

_Hello George and Martha_, said a raspy male voice.

_Don't be sarcastic_ said a female voice

_I'll be sarcastic all I want_ said the male voice

"Don't make me put you two on vibrate," threatened Hermes, causing the two to shut up immediately. Everyone chuckled at the random conversation.

_**Hello, George and Martha, **_**a raspy male voice said inside my head.**

_**Don't be sarcastic, **_**said a female **_**voice.**_

_**Why not? **_**George demanded. **_**I do all the **_**real **_**work.**_

**"Oh, let's not go into that again!" The jogger slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Now, where were we ... Ah, yes. Peace and quiet."**

**He crossed his ankles and stared up at the stars. "Been a long time since I've gotten to relax. Ever since the telegraph—rush, rush, rush. Do you have a favorite constellation, Percy?"**

**I was still kind of wondering about the little green snakes he'd shoved into his jogging shorts, but I said, "Uh, I like Hercules."**

"I thought you hated Hercules," said Frank

"This was before," said Percy, "besides, I still hate him, but I like his constellation."

"Why?" asked Zeus, curious as to why a son of his brother would like his son.

"Because he had rotten luck, even worse than mine," said Percy

"I agree," said PJ, "sometimes it makes me feel better."

"**Why?"**

**"Well ... because he had rotten luck. Even worse than mine. It makes me feel better."**

**The jogger chuckled. "Not because he was strong and famous and all that?"**

**"No."**

Many were impressed as they looked at Percy and PJ, who blushed under the spotlight.

**"You're an interesting young man. And so, what now?"**

**I knew immediately what he was asking. What did I intend to do about the Fleece?**

**Before I could answer, Martha the snake's muffled voice came from his pocket: **_**I have Demeter on line two.**_

**"Not now," the jogger said. "Tell her to leave a message."**

"You did not just do that," said Demeter

"You have to cut me some slack," said Hermes, "I get messages every other second. I can't just keep answering them. I need some Me-time too!"

_**She's not going to like that. The last time you put her off, all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted.**_

**"Just tell her I'm in a meeting!" The jogger rolled his eyes. "Sorry again, Percy. You were saying ..."**

**"Um ... who are you, exactly?"**

**"Haven't you guessed by now, a smart boy like you?"**

_**Show him! **_**Martha pleaded**_**. I haven't been full-size for months.**_

_**Don't listen to her! **_**George said. **_**She just wants to show off!**_

"I doubt that Martha is the one who's trying to show off," said PJ

**The man took out his phone again. "Original form, please."**

**The phone glowed a brilliant blue. It stretched into a three-foot-long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting out the top. George and Martha, now full-sized green snakes, coiled together around the middle. It was a caduceus, the symbol of Cabin Eleven.**

**My throat tightened. I realized who the jogger reminded me of with his elfish features, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes...**

**"You're Luke's father," I said. "Hermes."**

Luke scowled even more, "That man is not my father. I never had one."

"Luke," said Hermes, "you, of all people, should know that gods are forbidden to have much interaction with mortals."

Luke scoffed but didn't reply

**The god pursed his lips. He stuck his caduceus in the sand like an umbrella pole. **

**"'Luke's father.' Normally, that's not the first way people introduce me. God of thieves, yes. God of messengers and travelers, if they wish to be kind."**

"Unfortunately," said Hermes, "not all people are kind."

_**God of thieves works, **_**George said.**

_**Oh, don't mind George. **_**Martha flicked her tongue at me. **_**He's just bitter because Hermes likes me best.**_

_**He does not!**_

_**Does too!**_

**"Behave, you two," Hermes warned, "or I'll turn you back into a cell phone and set you on vibrate! Now, Percy, you still haven't answered my question. What do you intend to do about the quest?"**

"So that's why I'm there," said Hermes

"You still wouldn't be able to stop us," said Luke

**"I—I don't have permission to go."**

**"No, indeed. Will that stop you?"**

"No," said those who knew Percy the best, including AJ, immediately, while Percy and PJ blushed at the speed and certainty of which their friend(s) answered.

**"I want to go. I have to save Grover."**

**Hermes smiled. "I knew a boy once ... oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really."**

_**Here we go again, **_**George said. **_**Always talking about himself**_

_**Quiet! **_**Martha snapped. **_**Do you want to get set on vibrate?**_

**Hermes ignored them. "One night, when this boy's mother wasn't watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo."**

**"Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?" I asked.**

"Do I look like the guy that will blast someone to pieces?" asked Apollo

"My uncles do," said PJ, "and Lord Ares and Lady Athena."

Everyone not mentioned by PJ laughed whole-heartedly, while Poseidon was having a hard time trying to coordinate taking pictures of the faces of those mentioned and laughing.

**"Hmm ... no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, the boy gave Apollo an instrument he'd invented—a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry."**

"That reminds me, you still owe me," said Apollo

"I'll pay you back later," said Hermes

**"So what's the moral?"**

**"The moral?" Hermes asked. "Goodness, you act like it's a fable. It's a true story. Does truth have a moral?"**

"I guess not," said Athena

**"Um ..."**

**"How about this: stealing is not always bad?"**

**"I don't think my mom would like that moral."**

"No she wouldn't," agreed those who met Mrs. Jackson-Blofis

_**Rats are delicious, **_**suggested George.**

_**What does that have to do with the story? **_**Martha demanded.**

_**Nothing, **_**George said. **_**But I'm hungry.**_

**"I've got it," Hermes said. "Young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How's that?"**

**"You're saying I should go anyway," I said, "even without permission."**

"What better invitation than a god's?" asked Hermes

**Hermes's eyes twinkled. "Martha, may I have the first package, please?"**

**Martha opened her mouth ... and kept opening it until it was as wide as my arm. She belched out a stainless steel canister—an old-fashioned lunch box thermos with a black plastic top. The sides of the thermos were enameled with red and yellow Ancient Greek scenes—a hero killing a lion; a hero lifting up Cerberus, the three-headed dog.**

**"That's Hercules," I said. "But how—"**

**"Never question a gift," Hermes chided. "This is a collector's item from **_**Hercules Busts Heads. **_**The first season."**

_**"Hercules Busts Heads?"**_

"I remember that," said Hephaestus, "gained great ratings."

**"Great show." Hermes sighed. "Back before Hephaestus-TV was all reality programming. Of course, the thermos would be worth much more if I had the whole lunch box—"**

_**Or if it hadn't been in Martha's mouth, **_**George added.**

_**I'll get you for that. **_**Martha began chasing him around the caduceus.**

**"Wait a minute," I said. "This is a gift?"**

**"One of two," Hermes said. "Go on, pick it up."**

**I almost dropped it because it was freezing cold on one side and burning hot on the other. The weird thing was, when I turned the thermos, the side facing the ocean— north—was always the cold side...**

"A compass," said AJ, and Hermes and Percy nodded.

**"It's a compass!" I said.**

**Hermes looked surprised. "Very clever. I never thought of that. But its intended use is a bit more dramatic. Uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way. Not now! And please, when the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit. The winds are a bit like me—always restless. Should all four escape at once ... ah, but I'm sure you'll be careful. And now my second gift. George?"**

_**She's touching me, **_**George complained as he and Martha slithered around the pole.**

"Aren't they always touching?" asked Frank

"Yes," said Hermes, "yes they are."

**"She's **_**always **_**touching you," Hermes said. "You're intertwined. And if you don't stop that, you'll get knotted again!**

**The snakes stopped wrestling.**

**George unhinged his jaw and coughed up a little plastic bottle filled with chewable vitamins.**

**"You're kidding," I said. "Are those Minotaur-shaped?"**

**Hermes picked up the bottle and rattled it. "The lemon ones, yes. The grape ones are Furies, I think. Or are they hydras? At any rate, these are potent. Don't take one unless you really, really need it."**

**"How will I know if I really, really need it?"**

**"You'll know, believe me. Nine essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids ... oh, everything you need to feel yourself again."**

"Oh, it'll make me feel like myself again all right," said Percy

"Does someone need a piece of lettuce?" asked Nico

"No, unlike someone who needs a teddy bear to sleep at night," said Percy

"Nico, you can't expect a question like that to affect him," said Thalia, "you got to ask a better question, like 'does someone need to run on a treadmill?'"

"Not as much as someone who needs to avoid becoming a cat lady," said Percy

**He tossed me the bottle.**

**"Um, thanks," I said. "But Lord Hermes, why are you helping me?"**

**He gave me a melancholy smile. "Perhaps because I hope that you can save many people on this quest, Percy. Not just your friend Grover."**

"Even your own father wants to save you," said Percy, "if that's not a sign of love, I don't know what is."

"That's not a sign of love," said Luke, "he just didn't want My Lord to gain as many supporters as he probably has then."

"Keep reading," said Percy, "I think Hermes explains it."

**I stared at him. "You don't mean ... **_**Luke?"**_

**Hermes didn't answer.**

**"Look," I said. "Lord Hermes, I mean, thanks and everything, but you might as well take back your gifts. Luke can't be saved. Even if I could find him ... he told me he wanted to tear down Olympus stone by stone. He betrayed everybody he knew. He—he hates you especially."**

"Please tell me that's not true Luke," said Hermes, but the silence he was given was answer enough.

**Hermes gazed up at the stars. "My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you **_**can't **_**give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the Internet—"**

"You invented the Internet?" asked Leo and PJ, while Hermes just nodded.

**"You invented the Internet?"**

_**It was my idea, **_**Martha said.**

_**Rats are delicious, **_**George said.**

**"It was **_**my **_**idea!" Hermes said. "I mean the Internet, not the rats. But that's not the point. Percy, do you understand what I'm saying about family?"**

"Kind of," said PJ

"I did later," said Percy

**"I—I'm not sure."**

**"You will some day." Hermes got up and brushed the sand off his legs. "In the meantime, I must be going."**

_**You have sixty calls to return, **_**Martha said.**

_**And one thousand-thirty-eight e-mails, **_**George added. **_**Not counting the offers for online discount ambrosia.**_

"That's a lot of calls and e-mails," whistled Apollo

"how about I send some Cyclops to help with the online discount ambrosia e-mails?" asked Poseidon

"I'd like that," said Hermes

"Now to add to the list," said Poseidon, as he wrote down something on a piece of paper.

"What are you writing?" asked Athena

"Where I'm sending some cyclopes," said Poseidon, "so far, I have: to the Underworld, and to help with Hermes's e-mails. Numbers can be discussed later."

"How is it that your father's so friendly," said Jason, "yet he's the first to be blamed by mine when something goes wrong?"

"That's because your father has a big ego and always likes to be right," said Percy

**"And you, Percy," Hermes said, "have a shorter deadline than you realize to complete your quest. Your friends should be coming right about ... now."**

**I heard Annabeth's voice calling my name from the sand dunes. Tyson, too, was shouting from a little bit farther away.**

**"I hope I packed well for you," Hermes said. "I do have some experience with travel."**

**He snapped his fingers and three yellow duffel bags appeared at my feet. **

**"Waterproof, of course. If you ask nicely, your father should be able to help you reach the ship."**

"Ship?" asked PJ, gaining a bit more interest. AJ chuckled lightly at this

**"Ship?"**

**Hermes pointed. Sure enough, a big cruise ship was cutting across Long Island Sound, its white-and-gold lights glowing against the dark water.**

**"Wait," I said. "I don't understand any of this. I haven't even agreed to go!"**

**"I'd make up your mind in the next five minutes, if I were you," Hermes advised. "That's when the harpies will come to eat you. Now, good night, cousin, and dare I say it? May the gods go with you."**

"I just realized," said PJ, "can gods/goddesses pray?"

"It depends on the occasion," said Athena

**He opened his hand and the caduceus flew into it.**

_**Good luck, **_**Martha told me.**

_**Bring me back a rat, **_**George said.**

"I doubt that will happen," said Thalia

**The caduceus changed into a cell phone and Hermes slipped it into his pocket.**

**He jogged off down the beach. Twenty paces away, he shimmered and vanished, leaving me alone with a thermos, a bottle of chewable vitamins, and five minutes to make an impossible decision.**

"You've made one in less than that, right Perce?" asked Thalia

"Oh, yeah, big time," said Percy, when a flash of light filled the throne room once again.

**A/N Just so you know, I will be closing the poll within the next two weeks, which means I can work on the sequel for the Shapeshifting duology (if I can find a good enough story to do it on) during the summer. Please vote if you want me to do a sequel, unless you have an idea for what I should write about, for which I encourage you to review for either one of the stories part of the Shapeshifting duology with your idea, and whether you want me to do a sequel or not. I guess you could do it on this story too, but it would help if you do it on the Shapeshifting duology stories.**

**PS: a duology is like a trilogy, except with two books.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Okay, just a heads up. Apparently I got Luke's age wrong, and he's about 9 years older than AJ and 3 years older than Annabeth, making him 19. I would just like to point out that change before continuing, and thanks to ****syNemYoA ****for pointing that out. See, I don't have the books with me, and I just took a guess at it, so forgive me for any age mistakes, and if I do get it wrong, tell me. I don't want to get the ages wrong, since it's really important, if you haven't guessed all ready, for this story.**

When the light died down, there stood a woman who looked like she was in her twenties **(A/N ?)** standing there. She looked around, and soon went wide-eyed, before going up to Zeus and bowing. No one noticed Percy, PJ, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and Poseidon also going wide-eyed

"Who are you?" asked Zeus

"My name is Sally Jackson, Lord Zeus," said the woman, "I'm a mortal. May I ask why I was summoned?"

"Wait, you're Sally Jackson?" asked Athena, "As in, mother of Perseus Jackson, Sally Jackson?"

"Yes, milady," said Sally

"How old is your son when you last saw him by any chance?" asked Athena, "You see, we have two Percy's from different times here, and we don't want to make you confused."

"My son is ten at this point," said Sally

"Then your son is here," said Athena, gesturing to the younger son of Poseidon

"Percy," breathed Sally

"I think we should take a little break," said Aphrodite, adding a lot of charmspeak, "don't you?"

Many murmurs of agreement rang throughout the throne room.

"Everyone report back in 30 minutes," said Zeus, before thundering out. He literally had thunder resound as he stormed out of the throne room. Aphrodite flashed out right after before anyone could realize what had happened.

Luke returned to his room and back to his Call of Duty. Jason, Thalia, Grover, and Nico all went with Hazel and Frank to Hazel's room to talk about the differences between the two camps. PJ, AJ, Percy, Annabeth, and Poseidon all walked out together with Sally and went to Poseidon's rooms.

"So, Sally, how are you?" asked Poseidon, trying to break the ice, as Annabeth was straddling Percy's lap as they talked, and AJ was busy tutoring PJ.

"I'm doing fine," said Sally, "who's that Percy's with?"

"That's Annabeth," said Poseidon, "both of them. AJ, what we call little Annabeth, is probably helping PJ, the Percy that was with you, with his school stuff, while Percy and Annabeth are just doing what they're doing. I'm not too sure, but I don't want to intrude."

"Why is Annabeth sitting on Percy's lap like that?" asked Sally

"Apparently they're dating," said Poseidon, "and they look like they're really in love. You should have seen how Annabeth was when she first came here. She barely spoke, and when she did, it was usually quiet and her words sounded as if she were talking to Percy himself. Meanwhile, PJ and AJ have become the best of friends rather quickly."

"It looks like there might be a little bit more going on that best friendship," said Sally, as she and Poseidon looked at PJ and AJ, who were both blushing after their hands had touched each other's when reaching for a pencil, and were now looking at anywhere but the other. They looked around for the two's older version, but didn't see them, so Poseidon and Sally just assumed they left the rest of them alone.

"Might be," chuckled Poseidon, "but let it wait a few years. Then we'll see how it lasts. Listen, Sally, um, as you may have guessed, PJ has already learned about his parentage and true identity, and as of now, we're reading books about our son's adventures in the future in a different dimension."

"What do you mean different dimension?" asked Sally

"You see," said Poseidon, "Apollo and the Fates have sent back a few demigods from the future, one of them being Percy, to read about Percy's adventures in hopes that this dimension'll be better than theirs. I cannot say that I know exactly what is going on from where they came from, but that does not mean I do not have hunches. I have quite a few, none of them better than the last, but we'll save those for later."

"Poseidon, what are you trying to say?" asked Sally

"Well, once we're done here," said Poseidon, "I doubt that we'll be able to erase the memories of those present here, so that means that once we finish all the books, you're going to have to let PJ go to camp."

"I'm going to go to camp?" asked PJ, interrupting them

"Percy!" scolded AJ, "Can't you see that they were talking about something important?"

"Sorry," said PJ, blushing, "blame the ADHD."

"You know you can't blame it for everything, right?" asked AJ

"Doesn't mean I can't try," said PJ as he stuck his tongue out before running away.

"Percy, get back here so I can punch you!" yelled AJ, running after him

"They're getting along so well," said Sally

"Yes," said Poseidon, "it'll be a matter of time before they'll be going out. Anyways, you still have to let PJ go to camp."

"I know it'll be good for him," said Sally, "but I don't think I can stand parting with him so easily."

"You do realize that he can stay only for the summer, right?" asked Poseidon

"Right," said Sally, blushing, "you know what, I'll let my Percy decide. If he wants to stay year-round, I'll let him."

"I think that'll be best," said Poseidon, "after all, he is like the sea, and the sea does not like to be restrained. Now, why don't we make it back to the throne room? I'm pretty sure our half hour is up, and Zeus won't be pleased waiting for us."

Sally simply nodded, as she let Poseidon lead her back to the throne room. When she entered, she noticed that all of the mortals were still there, while most of the gods weren't. She looked around and found Percy and Annabeth sitting away from the others, in a heavy make-out session, while PJ and AJ were playing Tic-Tac-Toe. Soon, all of the gods had came back, and the older Percy and Annabeth stopped their make out session, though they had swollen lips and their hair was messed up, but they both, well Annabeth mostly, had started to fix it. Sally couldn't help but notice that Percy's skin looked a little bit more exposed.

Percy and Annabeth made their way to Poseidon's room with their younger selves and the gods of the sea and Sally Jackson. They entered the room and Percy sat on the bed, as Annabeth straddled his lap.

"So, what do you want to do on _this_ break, Wise Girl?" asked Percy

"I don't know," said Annabeth, "but can I ask you something: how did you get your Achilles Heel back? I mean, it's just like it was before you left."

"I don't know," said Percy, "it should have been gone as soon as I walked through the Little Tiber in the Roman camp. The weird thing is, though, I feel perfectly normal."

"Not even tired?" asked Annabeth

"Not one bit," said Percy, "you know what? I think we should go pay the Roman camp a little visit."

"You mean, you'll show me around?" asked Annabeth

"I don't see why not," shrugged Percy, "besides, it'll let me do two things: one, get this odd Achilles Heel off; and two, show you something I wanted to show you once you got to the Roman camp in our time."

"Now I can hit you and actually hurt you," smirked Annabeth

"Yeah," said Percy, "but I think you'll like what I'm going to show you."

Percy then vapor-traveled the two of them to the entrance of the Roman camp, where he made himself and Annabeth invisible so as to not raise suspicions. He held Annabeth's hand and pulled her towards the Little Tiber. As he crossed the river, he felt it wash away the Curse of Achilles and soon felt exposed. He ignored the feeling as he led Annabeth through the Roman camp and made his way to New Rome. When he finally stopped, Annabeth looked around before stopping and looking at New Rome. The daughter of Athena gasped as she took in the view. Percy smirked at the look on his girlfriend's face.

"Percy, what is this place?" asked Annabeth, after admiring the people, not to mention the architecture, of New Rome

"This, Wise girl," said Percy, "is New Rome. There are families of demigods, even descendants of demigods, living here. You can go to college here, have a job, settle down, raise a family, and pretty much anything a normal family would do, and I hope I get to do it all with you someday."

"Percy," gasped Annabeth, as she flung herself at her boyfriend and gave himself a huge hug, followed by several kisses, "Of course I will. Not now, when we're reading, but when we're both ready, we'll do it."

"Of course not onw Wise Girl!" laughed Percy, "we're about to fight the freakin' Goddess of the Earth. Now's not the time to settle down. However, once we win, and we're on our way back home, then maybe we should start thinking about calling you Mrs. Jackson."

"That'd be perfect, Percy," said Annabeth, "but before all that, we have to get back to the throne room."

"All right," said Percy, as he vapor-traveled them into the throne room, surprising half those present.

"Where'd you guys go?" asked Frank

"I was showing Annabeth New Rome," said Percy, "and washed off what might have been the Achilles Curse, or some sort of side effect or something. I don't know."

"Oh, well, you guys are just in time," said Hazel, "the thirty minutes is just about up in, like, 2 minutes."

"Great," said Percy

"You're on time for once Seaweed Brain," congratulated Annabeth

"Do I get a reward for that?" asked Percy, as they made their way to the most concealed couch.

"Only if you ask nicely," said Annabeth

"May I?" asked Percy

"Do you even need to ask?" asked Annabeth, before they started a full blown make out session, which lasted until all the gods had come back (which they were able to know thanks to a certain goddess of love not wanting her favorite couple to be destroyed before they could settle down.)

AJ chased PJ around Olympus, until hey ended up in a room unbeknownst to either of them. They both looked at each other and shrugged as they entered the room, curiosity taking the best of them. When they entered, they found themselves face-to-face with every game known to man, demigod, monster, or immortal.

"What is this place?" asked AJ

"I don't know," said PJ, "but if we weren't already on heaven, I'd say I'd have died and came to heaven."

"Shut up," said AJ, slapping PJ on the arm

"Why do you hit so hard?" asked PJ, mocking hurt, "It makes me feel like I'm being abused by a girl."

"That's because you are," said AJ, "now come on, help me find a good game to play back in the throne room while we wait."

"Annabeth, forget anything that has educational values," said PJ, "Leave that for the tutoring sessions."

"Ok, fine," said AJ, dropping her pile of games, "what kind of games should we get then?"

"Something we can play quickly," said Percy, "a game where we can have fun, do it within however much time we have once we get back, and still have enough time to play several rounds."

They then kept looking around, when they both stopped, looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Tic Tac Toe!"

The two then blushed, as they looked around to find an empty book on which they could play.

"Hey Annabeth?" called PJ, crouching down near a bookcase, "Does it have to be an empty book?"

"Of course it does," said AJ, looking at the son of Poseidon, who was at a bookcase less than twenty feet to her right, "where else would we play?"

PJ pulled out a book from the bottom of the bookshelf, as he simply said, "Tic Tac Toe book. Plus, it comes with a score tally and two different colored pencils. I call the blue one, you can get the red one."

"All right," said AJ, "that seems like something we could play. Come on, let's bring it back to the throne room."

**So, a little bit of Percabeth for you guys there. Hope you liked it, and don't forget to review**


	11. Chapter 11

As everyone settled in, they noticed that there were a few less mortals than before.

"Weren't there more of you?" asked Apollo

"Who's missing?" asked Zeus, as everyone looked around

"Frank, Hazel, and Grover," said Percy **(A/N Sorry, it was just too many people for me to handle, so I had to remove some. Sorry if it disappoints, but please understand that's all I'm asking for)**

"Where are they?" asked Leo

"Hey guys," said Nico, walking into the throne room, "I found this note in the bathroom. Says something about Frank, Hazel, and Grover being sent back to their time because there's too many people here. Either that, or it's a coupon for ten free Happy Meals from McDonalds, as long as we by vanilla milkshakes and fries."**(A/N Happy Meal, McDonald's fries and milkshake are not mine. Just a suggestion: try the fries and milkshaks together, not necessarily from McDonalds. They taste really good together, almost Percabeth good. Try it.)**

"Let me see that," said Thalia, "Yup, he was right on the first try."

"Wait, who are you?" asked Sally

"Oh, you don't know some of us yet," said Thalia, who then started the introductions of the demigods.

"Okay," said Sally, "thank you."

**We Board the**_**Princess Andromeda**_

"Hate that boat," said Annabeth

"I have mixed feelings about it," said Percy, "but mostly negative."

"Mixed feelings?" asked AJ

"Yeah," said Percy, "that's where I rescued Blackjack from."

"Blackjack?" asked Sally, "You better not be gambling Perseus."

"Don't worry," said Annabeth, "he doesn't."

"It's just the name of the Pegasus I get when I'm older," said PJ

**I was staring at the waves when Annabeth and Tyson found me.**

**"What's going on?" Annabeth asked. "I heard you calling for help!"**

"It was weird though," said Annabeth, "it sounded like you, except it didn't, almost like it was recorded."

"Well, the world may never know," said Percy

**"Me, too!" Tyson said. "Heard you yell, 'Bad things are attacking!'"**

**"I didn't call you guys," I said. "I'm fine."**

**"But then who ..." Annabeth noticed the three yellow duffel bags, then the thermos and the bottle of vitamins I was holding. "What—"**

"I bet it was hard for your brain to process what had happened," said Thalia

"It didn't make any sense based on visual," said Annabeth

**"Just listen," I said. "We don't have much time."**

**I told them about my conversation with Hermes. By the time I was finished, I could hear screeching in the distance—patrol harpies picking up our scent.**

**"Percy," Annabeth said, "we have to do the quest."**

**"We'll get expelled, you know. Trust me, I'm an expert at getting expelled."**

"Hear hear," agreed PJ

**"So? If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to."**

**"Yeah, but you promised Chiron—"**

**"I promised I'd keep you from danger. I can only do that by coming with you! Tyson can stay behind and tell them—"**

**"I want to go," Tyson said.**

**"No!" Annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "I mean ... Percy, come on. You know that's impossible."**

"It's not impossible," said Poseidon, causing Annabeth to hug Percy tightly again, not wanting to face any scolding she'll receive, "don't worry daughter of Athena, I won't do anything. I was just pointing something out. I'd understand if you'd have some bad past encounters with some of the more rogue Cyclopes, which would more than explain why you are acting this way."

Annabeth sighed, and then turned around, while Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter towards him.

**I wondered again why she had such a grudge against Cyclopes. There was something she wasn't telling me.**

**She and Tyson both looked at me, waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, the cruise ship was getting farther and farther away.**

"Don't let it get too far away," said AJ, "or you may not be able to reach it."

**The thing was, part of me didn't want Tyson along. I'd spent the last three days in close quarters with the guy, getting razzed by the other campers and embarrassed a million times a day, constantly reminded that I was related to him. I needed some space.**

**Plus, I didn't know how much help he'd be, or how I'd keep him safe. Sure, he was strong, but Tyson was a little kid in Cyclops terms, maybe seven or eight years old, mentally. I could see him freaking out and starting to cry while we were trying to sneak past a monster or something. He'd get us all killed.**

"What a vote of confidence," said Thalia sarcastically

"We all made some mistakes once we found out Tyson was a Cyclops, okay?" said Percy, "It wasn't just us."

**On the other hand, the sound of the harpies was getting closer...**

**"We can't leave him," I decided. "Tantalus will punish him for us being gone."**

"Somehow I don't doubt that," said Thalia

**"Percy," Annabeth said, trying to keep her cool, "we're going to Polyphemus's island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k ... a C-y-k . .."**

**She stamped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, too. We could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops.**

"What? It's true!" cried out Percy, right after Annabeth slapped him

"I know," said Annabeth, "doesn't mean I'm still not going to hit you."

"Make a comment about me like that, and I'll slap you," said AJ towards PJ

"Don't worry," said PJ, "I already have someone to ask about spelling: Siri."

"Siri?" asked AJ

"Apparently," said PJ, "they have these phones in the future, called iphones, from the same people who make ipods, and the phones are touch-screen. They also have this thing called Siri, which does stuff for the users, like calling someone or giving directions to someplace." **(A/N Not mine either)**

"Wow," said AJ, "that is so cool. You think that it could give a tour for the Parthenon."

"With the right app, maybe," said PJ

"App?" asked AJ

"An application," said Percy, "an app could be anything from a web browser to books to games to videos to music and much more. There are probably apps for anything and everything you could think of."

"What about taking over the world?" asked Luke

"There are several apps to help you with that," said Percy, "but it's mainly like for navigation or how to de-stress yourself and stuff like that."

"Oh, so useless stuff," said Luke

"Things can be useful if used in the right situation," said PJ, while Athena, AJ, and Annabeth nodded.

"Can we get back to reading?" asked Dionysus, "The sooner we finish this, the less time I have to spend with you brats."

While everyone turned their attention back to the robot, Percy looked to his mom, and said, "Can I get an iphone when it comes out? I know it attract monsters, but I won't use it that much."

"Maybe," said Sally, "we'll see when it comes out."

**"You know what I mean!"**

**"Tyson can go," I insisted, "if he wants to."**

**Tyson clapped his hands. "Want to!"**

**Annabeth gave me the evil eye, but I guess she could tell I wasn't going to change my mind. Or maybe she just knew we didn't have time to argue.**

"It was the later part," said Annabeth

**"All right," she said. "How do we get to that ship?"**

**"Hermes said my father would help."**

**"Well then, Seaweed Brain? What are you waiting for?"**

**I'd always had a hard time calling on my father, or praying, or whatever you want to call it, but I stepped into the waves.**

**"Urn, Dad?" I called. "How's it going?"**

"Really Percy?" asked Thalia, face-palming

"Well, how would you ask your dad for help in a time like this?" asked Percy

"I wouldn't," said Thalia, "because I doubt he'd give help anyway."

Zeus looked a bit hurt, and looked down. Hera rubbed his back to make him feel better.

**"Percy!" Annabeth whispered. "We're in a hurry!"**

**"We need your help," I called a little louder. "We need to get to that ship, like, before we get eaten and stuff, so ..."**

"That's not going to work," said AJ

"What? Are you kidding?" asked Poseidon, bewildered, "I'd send help to him even before he would have asked."

"You do realize that you would be breaking the Ancient Laws if you'd help, right?" asked Athena

"Who said anything about direct help?" asked Poseidon, his eyes sparkling, while PJ nodded as well, and Percy and Annabeth had a sparkle in his eyes.

**At first, nothing happened. Waves crashed against the shore like normal. The harpies sounded like they were right behind the sand dunes. Then, about a hundred yards out to sea, three white lines appeared on the surface. They moved fast toward the shore, like claws ripping through the ocean.**

"What are those?" asked PJ

"Fish ponies," smiled Percy

"Fish ponies?" asked AJ

"You'll see," said Annabeth

**As they neared the beach, the surf burst apart and the heads of three white stallions reared out of the waves.**

"Oh, fish ponies," realized AJ, while PJ asked, "What kind of fish have the heads of horses?"

"Hippocampi," said Percy

**Tyson caught his breath. "Fish ponies!"**

**He was right. As the creatures pulled themselves onto the sand, I saw that they were only horses in the front; their back halves were silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins.**

"They sound beautiful," said AJ

"They were," said Annabeth

"Not as beautiful as you, though," whispered Percy down Annabeth's neck, causing her to get shivers, though she did smile and blush at the compliment.

**"Hippocampi!" Annabeth said. "They're beautiful."**

**The nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled Annabeth.**

**"We'll admire them later," I said. "Come on!"**

**"There!" a voice screeched behind us. "Bad children out of cabins! Snack time for lucky harpies!"**

"I don't think Uncle P would appreciate his son being eaten by harpies," said Apollo

**Five of them were fluttering over the top of the dunes—plump little hags with pinched faces and talons and feathery wings too small for their bodies. They reminded me of miniature cafeteria ladies who'd been crossbred with dodo birds. They weren't very fast, thank the gods, but they were vicious if they caught you.**

"Nice people," shivered PJ

"I know a harpy named Ella who can memorize pretty much everything she reads," said Percy

**"Tyson!" I said. "Grab a duffel bag!"**

**He was still staring at the hippocampi with his mouth hanging open, "Tyson!"**

**"Uh?"**

**"Come on!"**

**With Annabeth's help I got him moving. We gathered the bags and mounted our steeds. Poseidon must've known Tyson was one of the passengers, because one hippocampus was much larger than the other two—just right for carrying a Cyclops.**

"Poseidon must have known Tyson was coming," said Piper

"I keep an eye out for my children," said Poseidon, "especially those out there on their own."

A few of the demigods, like Luke, felt jealous that Percy's dad was showing so much attention towards his kids. Luke couldn't help but rethink whether he was wrong about the gods not caring, but quickly changed his mind after looking at Thalia

**"Giddyup!" I said. My hippocampus turned and plunged into the waves. Annabeth's and Tyson's followed right behind.**

**The harpies cursed at us, wailing for their snacks to come back,**

**but the hippocampi raced over the water at the speed of Jet Skis. The harpies fell behind, and soon the shore of Camp Half-Blood was nothing but a dark smudge. I wondered if I'd ever see the place again.**

"Do you?" asked AJ

"We do," said Annabeth

**But right then I had other problems.**

**The cruise ship was now looming in front of us—our ride toward Florida and the Sea of Monsters.**

**Riding the hippocampus was even easier than riding a pegasus.**

"Probably because you're on more natural territory for yourself," said Athena

"Maybe," said Percy

**We zipped along with the wind in our faces, speeding through the waves so smooth and steady I hardly needed to hold on at all.**

**As we got closer to the cruise ship, I realized just how huge it was. I felt as though I were looking up at a building in Manhattan. The white hull was at least ten stories tall, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes. The ship's name was painted just above the bow line in black letters, lit with a spotlight. It took me a few seconds to decipher it:**_**PRINCESS ANDROMEDA**_

The sad glances, most of all by Percy followed by Annabeth, by those who had been there before Jason came to Camp Half-Blood didn't go unnoticed.

**Attached to the bow was a huge masthead—a three-story-tall woman wearing a white Greek chiton, sculpted to look as if she were chained to the front of the ship. She was young and beautiful, with flowing black hair, but her expression was one of absolute terror. Why anybody would want a screaming princess on the front of their vacation ship, I had no idea.**

"Only you Percy," said Thalia, while AJ shook her head at PJ, who responded, "Based on that description, it does make one wonder why anyone would want a screaming princess on the front of their vacation ship."

**I remembered the myth about Andromeda and how she had been chained to a rock by her own parents as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Maybe she'd gotten too many F's on her report card or something.**

Everyone laughed, while Percy and PJ blushed.

"That's not it Percy," said AJ, "Andromeda was chained there because the Oracle had said that Andromeda had to be sacrificed to get rid of the monster."

"Weren't they able to fight the monster?" asked PJ

"Well, Perseus, your namesake," said AJ, "had came across Andromeda after killing Medusa and helped free her after killing the monster, and then marrying her later on."

"Oh, okay," said PJ

**Anyway, my name sake, Perseus, had saved her just in time and turned the sea monster to stone using the head of Medusa.**

_**That**___**Perseus always won. That's why my mom had named me after him, even though he was a son of Zeus and I was a son of Poseidon.**

"Oh, the irony," said Thalia

"I bet _that_ Perseus didn't have to worry about his uncles killing him," whispered Percy to Annabeth

**The original Perseus was one of the only heroes in the Greek myths who got a happy ending. The others died—betrayed, mauled, mutilated, poisoned, or cursed by the gods.**

"Is it just me," said Leo, "or do most stories end up bad because the gods seem bad at understanding? I mean, there are a few exceptions, like that Tantalus guy or

**My mom hoped I would inherit Perseus's luck. Judging by how my life was going so far, I wasn't real optimistic.**

"So you do finally realize that you're pessimistic?" asked Thalia

"You do realize I was talking about my luck so far, right?" asked Percy

"How bad could it be?" asked AJ

"Well, let's put it this way," said Percy, "so far, since I was born, I've: put up with a demon step-father; lost my mom after finding out who my real father is; become the target of a nationwide manhunt; almost lost my brother in the Sea of Monsters; blown up a volcano to help out Hephaestus; had my love life become the object of Aphrodite's love-obsessed mind; almost went crazy trying to find Annabeth when she was captured; become a target of my evil little cousins' verbally abusing love; almost died on more than 20 occasions; been under the burden of the prophecy foretelling whether I'd help save or destroy Olympus; been transported and put under sleep after getting about 2 months of relaxation by a crazy cow queen; and much more. Does that answer your question?"

"Yup," said AJ

"How did you survive?" asked Leo

"With help from my friends," said Percy

"Percy," said Annabeth, "I doubt your friends helped you when you went crazy looking for me. I doubt that they caused you to become the target of a nationwide man-hunt, become the child of the prophecy, put under sleep by the crazy cow queen, and blow up a volcano."

"Well, most of the time," said Percy

"I've never seen a hero as modest as you," said Artemis, who then turned to Sally, "you have done well raising him."

"Thank you, milady," said Sally

"Can we get back to reading?" asked Athena

**"How do we get aboard?" Annabeth shouted over the noise of the waves, but the hippocampi seemed to know what we needed. They skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.**

"Somehow I doubt that they would have left the ladder hanging out there," said Thalia

"You'd be surprised how dumb the monsters are," said Percy

**"You first," I told Annabeth.**

**She slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and grabbed the bottom rung. Once she'd hoisted herself onto the ladder, her hippocampus whinnied a farewell and dove under water. Annabeth began to climb. I let her get a few rungs up, then followed her.**

**Finally it was just Tyson in the water. His hippocampus was treating him to 360° aerials and backward ollies, and Tyson was laughing so hysterically, the sound echoed up the side of the ship.**

**"Tyson, shhh!" I said. "Come on, big guy!"**

**"Can't we take Rainbow?" he asked, his smile fading.**

"Rainbow?" asked Poseidon

**I stared at him.**_**"Rainbow?"**_

**The hippocampus whinnied as if he liked his new name.**

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Poseidon, "hippocampi tend to stick to names given to them by the riders they favor the most."

**"Um, we have to go," I said. "Rainbow ... well, he can't climb ladders."**

"Wow, good save," said Hermes, "getting him to come without telling a lie."

**Tyson sniffled. He buried his face in the hippocampus's mane. "I will miss you, Rainbow!"**

**The hippocampus made a neighing sound I could've sworn was crying.**

**"Maybe we'll see him again sometime," I suggested.**

**"Oh, please!" Tyson said, perking up immediately. "Tomorrow!"**

**I didn't make any promises, but I finally convinced Tyson to say his farewells and grab hold of the ladder. With a final sad whinny, Rainbow the hippocampus did a back-flip and dove into the sea.**

**The ladder led to a maintenance deck stacked with yellow lifeboats. There was a set of locked double doors, which Annabeth managed to pry open with her knife and a fair amount of cursing in Ancient Greek.**

"Annabeth," scolded Athena sternly

"Not my fault the double doors didn't want to open," said Annabeth, "besides, they seemed to respond to cursing."

**I figured we'd have to sneak around, being stowaways and all, but after checking a few corridors and peering over a balcony into a huge central promenade lined with closed shops, I began to realize there was nobody to hide from.**

"Only when I'm mad," whispered Annabeth

"I have a way to stop you from killing me," said Percy

"Won't work all the time," said Annabeth

"We'll see," said Percy, causing Annabeth to slap him, which he promptly ignored.

**I mean, sure it was the middle of the night, but we walked half the length of the boat and met no one. We passed forty or fifty cabin doors and heard no sound behind any of them.**

**"It's a ghost ship," I murmured.**

**"No," Tyson said, fiddling with the strap of his duffel bag. "Bad smell."**

"You should listen to him," said Poseidon

**Annabeth frowned. "I don't smell anything."**

**"Cyclopes are like satyrs," I said. "They can smell monsters. Isn't that right, Tyson?"**

"Exactly right," said Percy

**He nodded nervously. Now that we were away from Camp Half-Blood, the Mist had distorted his face again. Unless I concentrated very hard, it seemed that he had two eyes instead of one.**

"Must have made it hard to concentrate and dispel the Mist, huh?" asked Thalia, which Percy nodded to.

"Easy to understand," said Thalia, "takes a while to be able to do that. Took me a few years."

**"Okay," Annabeth said. "So what exactly do you smell?"**

**"Something bad," Tyson answered.**

**"Great," Annabeth grumbled. "That clears it up."**

**We came outside on the swimming pool level. There were rows of empty deck chairs and a bar closed off with a chain curtain. The water in the pool glowed eerily, sloshing back and forth from the motion of the ship.**

**Above us fore and aft were more levels—a climbing wall, a putt-putt golf course, a revolving restaurant, but no sign of life.**

"Was there signs of death?" asked Nico

"No," said Percy

"Why would you ask that?" asked Luke

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Nico, "I am the son of the Lord of the Underworld."

"That doesn't give you any right to ask that question," said Luke, "I'd expect it from a son of Thantanos, but not from a son of Hades."

"Why not a son of Hades?" asked AJ

"Because," said Luke, "I'd expect a son of Hades to ask about signs of darkness rather than signs of death."

"Luke, you're wrong and being an idiot," said Annabeth, "and Nico, why bring up the question of signs of death? You know that if there was any signs of death, me, Tyson, or Percy would have noticed it."

"Sorry, just curious," said Nico, while Luke was thinking about a plan to make up for being an idiot in Annabeth's eyes.

**And yet ... I sensed something familiar. Something dangerous. I had the feeling that if I weren't so tired and burned out on adrenaline from our long night, I might be able to put a name to what was wrong.**

"How is it that Percy's able to _feel_ something is off," said Thalia, "but not be able to tell?"

"I have no idea," said Percy

**"We need a hiding place," I said. "Somewhere safe to sleep."**

**"Sleep," Annabeth agreed wearily.**

**We explored a few more corridors until we found an empty suite on the ninth level. The door was open, which struck me as weird.**

**There was a basket of chocolate goodies on the table, an iced-down bottle of sparkling cider on the nightstand, and a mint on the pillow with a hand written note that said:**_**Enjoy your cruise!**_

**We opened our duffel bags for the first time and found that Hermes really had thought of everything—extra clothes, toiletries, camp rations, a Ziploc bag full of cash, a leather pouch full of golden drachmas. He'd even managed to pack Tyson's oilcloth with his tools and metal bits, and Annabeth's cap of invisibility, which made them both feel a lot better.**

**"I'll be next door," Annabeth said. "You guys**_**don't**___**drink or eat anything."**

"You felt it too, didn't you?" asked Nico

"Oh yeah, big time," said Annabeth

**"You think this place is enchanted?"**

**She frowned. "I don't know. Something isn't right. Just ... be careful."**

**We locked our doors.**

**Tyson crashed on the couch. He tinkered for a few minutes on his metalworking project**

—**which he still wouldn't show me—but soon enough he was yawning. He wrapped up his oilcloth and passed out.**

**I lay on the bed and stared out the porthole. I thought I heard voices out in the hallway, like whispering.**

"Whispering?" asked Athena

"You heard it too?" asked Annabeth

"Yeah," said Percy, "but I didn't think much of it because I thought no one was on board."

**I knew that couldn't be. We'd walked all over the ship and had seen nobody. But the voices kept me awake. They reminded me of my trip to the Underworld—the way the spirits of the dead sounded as they drifted past.**

"Maybe they were spirits of the dead," shrugged Nico

"Somehow," said PJ, "I doubt that's it."

**Finally my weariness got the best of me. I fell asleep ... and had my worst dream yet.**

**I was standing in a cavern at the edge of an enormous pit. I knew the place too well. The entrance to Tartarus. And I recognized the cold laugh that echoed from the darkness below.**

"How would you know what he sounded like?" asked Luke

"Too many nightmares of him," said Percy

"They aren't nightmares," said Luke, "they're dreams and promises of a better time."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night," said Percy, "just know that I'm right."

_**If it isn't the young hero.**___**The voice was like a knife blade scraping across stone.**_**On his way to another great victory.**_

**I wanted to shout at Kronos to leave me alone. I wanted to draw Riptide and strike him down. But I couldn't move. And even if I could, how could I kill something that had already been destroyed—chopped to pieces and cast into eternal darkness?**

_**Don't let me stop you,**___**the titan said.**_**Perhaps this time, when you fail, you'll wonder if it's worthwhile slaving for the gods.**_

_**How exactly**___**has**_**your father shown his appreciation lately?**_

"I appreciate you a lot Percy," said Poseidon

"I know," said Percy, "I was just confused at the time."

**His laughter filled the cavern, and suddenly the scene changed.**

**It was a different cave—Grover's bedroom prison in the Cyclops's lair.**

**Grover was sitting at the loom in his soiled wedding dress, madly unraveling the threads of the unfinished bridal train.**

**"Honeypie!" the monster shouted from behind the boulder.**

"I don't think Juniper's going to like this," said Percy

"Juniper?" asked AJ

"Grover's girlfriend," said Annabeth, "she's a dryad."

**Grover yelped and began weaving the threads back together.**

**The room shook as the boulder was pushed aside. Looming in the doorway was a Cyclops so huge he made Tyson look vertically challenged. He had jagged yellow teeth and gnarled hands as big as my whole body. He wore a faded purple T-shirt that said WORLD SHEEP EXPO 2001. He must've been at least fifteen feet tall, but the most startling thing was his enormous milky eye, scarred and webbed with cataracts. If he wasn't completely blind, he had to be pretty darn close.**

"Polyphemus," gasped Poseidon

"Who?" asked Leo

"The first of many evil half-brothers," said Percy

"How many half-brothers do you have?" asked Piper

"Not counting the Cyclopes," said Percy, "two, that I've met, 3, if you count Frank."

"Why Frank?" asked Annabeth

"He's a descendant of some son of Poseidon," said Percy, "I forget which."

**"What are you doing?" the monster demanded.**

**"Nothing!" Grover said in his falsetto voice. "Just weaving my bridal train, as you can see."**

**The Cyclops stuck one hand into the room and groped around until he found the loom. He pawed at the cloth. "It hasn't gotten any longer!"**

**"Oh, um, yes it has, dearest. See? I've added at least an inch."**

"No it hasn't," said Apollo

"What are you talking about?" asked Artemis

"It didn't grow an inch," said Apollo

"He's right," said Hermes, wearing dress pants, a tucked-in shirt, a tie, a pocket protector and pens in his shirt pocket, glasses that make him look like a nerd **(no offence to nerds everywhere)**, shiny shoes, and a calculator in his hands, "by my calculations, that loom has grown by at least 5 inches since last time."

**"Too many delays!" the monster bellowed. Then he sniffed the air. "You smell good! Like goats!"**

"Maybe because he is a goat?" asked Thalia

**"Oh." Grover forced a weak giggle. "Do you like it? It's**_**Eau de Chevre.**___**I wore it just for you."**

"You're wrong," gasped Leo, "Grover's not a goat. He just wore _Eau de Chevre_."

Who knows how hard Piper slapped him after this since everyone was paying attention to the robot and not Leo.

**"Mmmm!" The Cyclops bared his pointed teeth. "Good enough to eat!"**

**"Oh, you're such a flirt!"**

**"No more delays!"**

**"But dear, I'm not done!"**

**"Tomorrow!"**

**"No, no. Ten more days."**

**"Five!"**

**"Oh, well, seven then. If you insist."**

**"Seven! That is less than five, right?"**

**"Certainly. Oh yes."**

"Polyphemus is not good at math, is he?" asked Artemis

"Well, he has been stuck on an island for many centuries," said Poseidon, "it's not like they're going to build schools there, and I'm certainly not going to help him kill more people."

**The monster grumbled, still not happy with his deal, but he left Grover to his weaving and rolled the boulder back into place.**

**Grover closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, trying to calm his nerves.**

**"Hurry, Percy," he muttered. "Please, please, please!"**

**I woke to a ship's whistle and a voice on the intercom— some guy with an Australian accent who sounded way too happy.**

"So, like a drugged Leo," said Piper

"Or Nico on candy," said Thalia

Both comments caused the one mentioned to pout, much to the amusement of others.

**"Good morning, passengers! We'll be at sea all day today. Excellent weather for the poolside mambo party! Don't forget million-dollar bingo in the Kraken Lounge at one o'clock, and for our**_**special guests,**___**disemboweling practice on the Promenade!"**

"Disemboweling practice?" asked Poseidon

"Special guests?" asked Athena

**I sat up in bed. "What did he say?"**

**Tyson groaned, still half asleep. He was lying face down on the couch, his feet so far over the edge they were in the bathroom. "The happy man said ... bowling practice?"**

**I hoped he was right, but then there was an urgent knock on the suite's interior door. Annabeth stuck her head in—her blond hair in a rat's nest.**

_**"Disemboweling**___**practice?"**

"So I did here it right," said Percy

**Once we were all dressed, we ventured out into the ship and were surprised to see other people. A dozen senior citizens were heading to breakfast. A dad was taking his kids to the pool for a morning swim. Crew members in crisp white uniforms strolled the deck, tipping their hats to the passengers.**

**Nobody asked who we were. Nobody paid us much attention. But there was something wrong.**

**As the family of swimmers passed us, the dad told his kids: "We are on a cruise. We are having fun."**

**"Yes," his three kids said in unison, their expressions blank. "We are having a blast. We will swim in the pool."**

"Sounds like they're in some kind of trance," said Athena

**They wandered off.**

**"Good morning," a crew member told us, his eyes glazed. "We are all enjoying ourselves aboard the**_**Princess Andromeda.**___**Have a nice day." He drifted away.**

**"Percy, this is weird," Annabeth whispered. "They're all in some kind of trance."**

**Then we passed a cafeteria and saw our first monster. It was a hellhound**

—**a black mastiff with its front paws up on the buffet line and its muzzle buried in the scrambled eggs. It must've been young, because it was small compared to most—no bigger than a grizzly bear. Still, my blood turned cold. I'd almost gotten killed by one of those before.**

"How so?" asked Luke

"You brought it in camp grounds during my first Capture-the-Flag," said Percy

**The weird thing was: a middle-aged couple was standing in the buffet line right behind the devil dog, patiently waiting their turn for the eggs. They didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.**

**"Not hungry anymore," Tyson murmured.**

**Before Annabeth or I could reply, a reptilian voice came from down the corridor, "Ssssix more joined yesssterday."**

"If Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson are three," said Athena, "who were the other six?"

Percy and Annabeth shrugged, not sure if they found out or not.

**Annabeth gestured frantically toward the nearest hiding place—the women's room—and all three of us ducked inside.**

**I was so freaked out it didn't even occur to me to be embarrassed. Something—or more like**_**two**___**somethings—slithered past the bathroom door, making sounds like sandpaper against the carpet.**

**"Yesss," a second reptilian voice said. "He drawssss them. Ssssoon we will be sssstrong."**

**The things slithered into the cafeteria with a cold hissing that might have been snake laughter.**

"Dracaenae," said Poseidon

**Annabeth looked at me. "We have to get out of here."**

**"You think I**_**want**___**to be in the girls' restroom?"**

"Really Percy?" asked Thalia

"I thought she was talking about the girls' restroom, okay?" said Percy

**"I mean the ship, Percy! We have to get off the ship."**

**"Smells bad," Tyson agreed. "And dogs eat all the eggs.** **Annabeth is right.** **We must leave the restroom and ship."**

**I shuddered. If Annabeth and Tyson were actually**_**agreeing**___**about something, I figured I'd better listen.**

"You don't need Tyson to listen to Annabeth," said Nico

"Nico, it works both ways," said Thalia, "Percy'll listen to Annabeth, and Annabeth'll listen to Percy, neither without question, mostly."

"Mostly?" asked Piper

"Sometimes they'll argue on stuff," said Thalia

"Like whether they should have blue waffles or blue pancakes for breakfast," said Nico

"What's the difference?" asked Leo

"What's the difference?" asked Percy, "Blue waffles are amazing!"

"Blue pancakes are better," said Annabeth, "easier to make."

"Since when do I do easy?" asked Percy, "Besides, blue waffles are better to put toppings on. Pancakes are just for putting butter on."

"He's right," said PJ

"Pancakes are better to hold things because they have the little square things on them," said AJ

"Those things are only big enough for syrup," said PJ, "with waffles, you don't need to waste syrup filling up the holes because there aren't as many, so the syrup would just run down the sides and you can put toppings on top of the syrup."

"Pancakes are better," said Percy and PJ

"Waffles are better and you know it," said Annabeth and AJ

"Oh I do know it, and now, you do too," said Percy, "now, we're having waffles for breakfast."

Percy gave PJ a high-five, while Annabeth smiled , while snuggling into Percy, and AJ just sat there frozen trying to process what just happened. Luke looked on and when he saw that PJ had just beaten AJ in an argument, he started hoping that it'll make AJ less interested in PJ and return her interests to him. Once AJ realized what happened, she did the one thing Luke didn't expect.

"Nice job," smirked AJ, "you actually beat me using reverse psychology."

"Oh yeah," said PJ, "when you have to deal with the buffoons of a bully that I've had to, you learn a few things to win arguments and gain time to run away, if necessary."

"How much time'd you get?" asked Jason

"About 30 seconds," said Percy, "usually, which is more than enough time if used correctly."

**Then I heard another voice outside—one that chilled me worse than any monster's.**

**"—only a matter of time. Don't push me, Agrius!"**

**It was Luke, beyond a doubt. I could never forget his voice.**

"And why not?" asked Luke

"Because it reminds me of a traitor and a liar," spat Percy

**"I'm not pushing you!" another guy growled. His voice was deeper and even angrier than Luke's. "I'm just saying, if this gamble doesn't pay off—"**

**"It'll pay off," Luke snapped. "They'll take the bait. Now, come, we've got to get to the admiralty suite and check on the casket."**

**Their voices receded down the corridor.**

**Tyson whimpered. "Leave now?"**

**Annabeth and I exchanged looks and came to a silent agreement.**

"It's scary how you guys do it," said Thalia

"I used to think that the Stolls have the creepiest silent agreements," said Nico, "but you guys trump them good."

"How creepy is it?" asked Jason

"So creepy that you can't even tell what they're planning next," said Thalia

"Until it actually happens," said Nico

Just then Annabeth got up and kicked Thalia, Piper, and Leo in such a way that they fell to the ground, while Percy grabbed the arms of Jason, Nico, and Luke and flipped them over and landed them on their backs (not at the same time of course). Somehow, the two were able to make the six of them be near each other, so that when they sat back up, they'd be huddled together facing Percy and Annabeth. The six who had been flipped or kicked were groaning as they sat up. Percy and Annabeth simply sat back down the way they were before: Percy on the chair with Annabeth on his lap, snuggling into his chest. Everyone else was amazed at how quickly, efficiently, and smoothly they had done it.

"Next time, give us a chance to prepare ourselves," groaned Thalia

"I think that was a new one," groaned Nico

"Definitely," said Thalia

"You mean, they've done this before?" groaned Jason

"Loads of times," said Thalia

"Especially when we insult one of them," said Nico

"No one insults Annabeth or Percy except the other," said Thalia, "unless given permission of course, and me and Nico, and a few others, have permission to make fun of either of them."

"If anyone sees an arm bone anywhere, it might be mine," groaned Luke

"I thought you were going to go easy on him," said Annabeth

"I was?" asked Percy

"Never mind," said Annabeth, "what's done is done."

"Really?" asked Luke, "You're going to let me deal with the violent nature of your boyfriend?"

"Percy doesn't have a violent nature unless you're doing something to the things he loves," said Annabeth, "and besides, he has a right to do it to you, especially, with what you've done to him."

"Like I was the one who dragged Percy to the other side of the country to another camp," said Luke

"Actually, you can blame Hera for that," said Annabeth, "and besides, you're not even there when that happened."

"Why not?" asked Luke

"If I told you," said Annabeth, "then it'll lead to more and more questions, which will lead to me exposing the rest of the stories, which will eventually answer most of your questions. Now stop talking and let's get back to reading."

At this point, you could tell Annabeth was fuming mad at Luke, as she was glaring at him. Percy noticed this, and was able to quickly calm her down before the robot started reading again. Luke looked down as he knew his argument with Annabeth didn't help him win any points with her. He looked at AJ, who had been glaring at him. AJ noticed him looking at her, and she quickly turned towards the robot. PJ, sensing something wrong with AJ, asked her if she was fine. She looked at him and schooched closer as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Luke sighed in disappointment as now both Annabeth's hated him at this point.

**"We can't," I told Tyson.**

**"We have to find out what Luke is up to," Annabeth agreed. "And if possible, we're going to beat him up, bind him in chains, and drag him to Mount Olympus."**

"I doubt he's doing to come willingly," said Athena


	12. Chapter 12

"If my hunch is right," said Luke, "then I'm going to have some monster protecting me, so it's not like you're going to have an easy job doing that."

"We didn't have to in the end," said Percy, "you realized The Time Titan's true intentions before it was too late."

"How and why would I actually do that?" asked Percy

"Because you realized one thing," said Annabeth, "you didn't give me the family that you promised."

"Once milord wins," said Luke, "we can be the family that we were meant to be."

"You know," whispered PJ to AJ, "I'm starting to think he means something other than having a brother-sister family with you."

"Wait, what?" asked AJ, looking a bit disgusted, "He's like 9 years older than me, and even the Luke from our time isn't much younger. He's like 7 years older, so if this Luke does like me like that, then it's just gross."

"Isn't there a name for that?" asked PJ

"I think it's called pedophilia, but I'm not sure," said AJ

"Probably is," said PJ, "you are a genius."

"Thanks," blushed AJ

**I Have the Worst Family Reunion Ever**

"If it's Luke," said Thalia, "then I don't doubt it at all."

"Hey!" said Luke, "You should be happy to be with me!"

"Pfft," said Percy, "why would I be happy after you practically tried to tear my family apart?"

"Not you," said Luke

"Why would I be happy?" asked Thalia, "After I got turned back from a tree, I find out that there is a son of Poseidon at camp, who so happens to return the feelings of love which my youngest best friend felt for him—even if he didn't know it—and my oldest best friend is the guy who turned and who're fighting against, and that he's trying to help my evil grandfather rise and destroy my family, who may not be the best family in the world, but family nonetheless!"

Everyone was speechless as the tough Lieutenant of Artemis was now trying hard to hold back tears while glaring at Luke, who was uncomfortably trying to avoid eye contact with said Lieutenant of Artemis and failing miserably. Both Percys immediately went to give her a hug and comforting words, which she silently accepted. Both Annabeths weren't too far away either, as they rubbed her back. Jason was near her, also consoling her, though he let the Percys and Annabeths do the main job. Even Nico was consoling Thalia the best he could, which wasn't very good at all, but the fact that he was trying helped Thalia recover.

"I'm sorry," said Luke, breaking the silence, "I'm sorry you had to reenter the world that way, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still on the same side as before."

"At least you're sorry for something," said Percy, glaring at Luke

"Calm down Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth, now rubbing his arm, "how does a midnight swim sound?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," said Percy, looking down.

Annabeth grinned as she sat back on Percy's lap, after which Percy immediately wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his nose into her hair. AJ and PJ sat near each other, both closer than what the distance between friends would be, but neither seemed to notice. Nico and Jason stayed by Thalia's side, which Thalia was grateful as she laid her head on Nico's shoulders while Jason side hugged her and rubbed her back.

Artemis watched with interest, curious that her Lieutenant, who seemed to be undaunting in her position on not being attracted to any men, just let four males (technically three, since two of them are the same person) touch her, let alone comfort and consol her. She knew that one of them was her brother, so that didn't count much in her mind. Nico didn't really do anything, but he was able to get Thalia to lay her head on his shoulder, while both Percys were able to hug her while she was crying. Artemis realized that the three (not counting PJ, since he's basically Percy in younger form) were very close, and that if anything had happened to one of them, the other two would do everything they could to help the other. Artemis started wondering whether she could get along this way with her brother, and realized that the reason they aren't like this was because she always seemed to get annoyed by the simplest things he did, while all he ever wanted to do, she realized, was get closer to her and her heart. Artemis decided that she would try to make it up to Apollo, and help him succeed in becoming one of the first men to be and stay in her heart.

Artemis was so deep in thought, she almost missed the robot starting to read again.

**Annabeth volunteered to go alone since she had the cap of invisibility, but I convinced her it was too dangerous. Either we all went together, or nobody went.**

"Good plan," said Athena, "that way you don't have to worry about whether anything had happened to the other two."

**"Nobody!" Tyson voted. "Please?"**

**But in the end he came along, nervously chewing on his huge fingernails. We stopped at our cabin long enough to gather our stuff. We figured whatever happened, we would**_**not**___**be staying another night aboard the zombie cruise ship, even if they did have million-dollar bingo.**

"They had a million-dollar bingo?" asked Leo, "Dude, I'm staying on the zombie cruise ship, SIGN ME UP!"

"No you're not," said Piper, slapping him on the head.

"Yeah," said Jason, "we don't want those zombies to come back and eat your arms off or something."

**I made sure Riptide was in my pocket and the vitamins and thermos from Hermes were at the top of my bag. I didn't want Tyson to carry everything, but he insisted, and Annabeth told me not to worry about it. Tyson could carry three full duffel bags over his shoulder as easily as I could carry a backpack.**

"Lucky you have him then," said Hermes

"That's all monsters are good for," spat Luke, "being used as pack mules, distractions, or training partners."

"First of all, it wasn't my idea, it was Annabeth's," said Percy, "second of all, I didn't want to do it. Third of all, that's my baby brother you're talking about so shut it Luke!"

**We sneaked through the corridors, following the ship's YOU ARE HERE signs toward the admiralty suite. Annabeth scouted ahead invisibly. We hid whenever someone passed by, but most of the people we saw were just glassy-eyed zombie passengers.**

**As we came up the stairs to deck thirteen, where the admiralty suite was supposed to be, Annabeth hissed, "Hide!" and shoved us into a supply closet.**

"If you just wanted Percy alone," said Hermes, "you could have told him."

"I didn't mean it like that," blushed Annabeth

"He's right though," whispered Percy, "all you have to do is ask."

"I ask every night, don't I?" asked Annabeth. Percy grinned and gave her a kiss in her hair, before they turned their attention to the book.

**I heard a couple of guys coming down the hall.**

**"You see that Aethiopian drakon in the cargo hold?" one of them said**

**The other laughed. "Yeah, it's awesome."**

**Annabeth was still invisible, but she squeezed my arm hard. I got a feeling I should know that second guy's voice.**

"Oh no, was it Chris?" asked Thalia, wide-eyed

"Chris?" asked Jason

"Yup," said Percy

"Chris who?" asked Hermes

"You'll see," said Nico

"You won't like it either," whispered Percy

**"I hear they got two more coming," the familiar**_**voice**___**said. "They keep arriving at this rate, oh, man—no contest!"**

**The voices faded down the corridor.**

**"That was Chris Rodriguez!"**

"My Chris Rodriguez?" asked Hermes

"Even my brother sees sense," said Luke

"That was before you used him as a pawn and made him lose his mind," said Percy

"But I heard he was with us in the end," said Jason

"Did he switch back?" asked Piper

"Yeah," said Percy, "I think it's in the fourth book."

**Annabeth took off her cap and turned visible. "You remember—from Cabin Eleven."**

**I sort of recalled Chris from the summer before. He was one of those undetermined campers who got stuck in the Hermes cabin because his Olympian dad or mom never claimed him. Now that I thought about it, I realized I hadn't seen Chris at camp this summer. "What's another half-blood doing here?"**

**Annabeth shook her head, clearly troubled.**

**We kept going down the corridor. I didn't need maps anymore to know I was getting close to Luke. I sensed something cold and unpleasant—the presence of evil.**

"That's because you're sensing Luke," said Nico, venom dripping from his voice

"I'm not evil," said Luke, "I'm simple able to see the true vision of the world."

"What's with Nico and his venom-dripped hatred of Luke?" whispered Piper to Percy

"That's for him to tell if he wants," whispered Percy, "he really has changed since the event happened, and it was because of Luke that it happened."

**"Percy." Annabeth stopped suddenly. "Look."**

**She stood in front of a glass wall looking down into the multistory canyon that ran**

**through the middle of the ship. At the bottom was the Promenade—a mall full of shops— but that's not what had caught Annabeth's attention.**

**A group of monsters had assembled in front of the candy store: a dozen Laistrygonian giants like the ones who'd attacked me with dodge balls, two hellhounds, and a few even stranger creatures—humanoid females with twin serpent tails instead of legs.**

"Scythian Dracaenae," whispered AJ, which caused PJ to give her a confused look

"Dragon women," clarified AJ

**"Scythian Dracaenae," Annabeth whispered. "Dragon women."**

"You don't change much, do you?" asked PJ, after which AJ blushed

**The monsters made a semicircle around a young guy in Greek armor who was hacking on a straw dummy. A lump formed in my throat when I realized the dummy was wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. As we watched, the guy in armor stabbed the dummy through its belly and ripped upward. Straw flew everywhere. The monsters cheered and howled.**

**Annabeth stepped away from the window. Her face was ashen.**

**"Come on," I told her, trying to sound braver than I felt. "The sooner we find Luke the better."**

"And why is that?" asked Luke, "Come to join my side?"

"In your dreams," said Percy

"As if," said PJ

Sally smiled at her boy's determination

**At the end of the hallway were double oak doors that looked like they must lead somewhere important. When we were thirty feet away, Tyson stopped. "Voices inside."**

**"You can hear that far?" I asked.**

**Tyson closed his eye like he was concentrating hard. Then his voice changed, becoming a husky approximation of Luke's.**

"It better have been a good approximation," said Luke

"Anything is better than the real thing," said Percy, earning some smiles around the room, except for Luke, who was snarling.

**"—the prophecy ourselves. The fools won't know which way to turn."**

**Before I could react, Tyson's voice changed again, becoming deeper and gruffer, like the other guy we'd heard talking to Luke outside the cafeteria. "You really think the old horseman is gone for good?"**

**Tyson laughed Luke's laugh. "They can't trust him. Not with the skeletons in**_**his**___**closet. The poisoning of the tree was the final straw."**

"Really?" asked Thalia, "Chiron has been teaching and helping your kids for thousands of years, and when my tree gets poisoned, you just kick him out?"

The Olympians looked down in same, even though this hasn't happened yet.

**Annabeth shivered. "Stop that, Tyson! How do you do that? It's creepy."**

**Tyson opened his eye and looked puzzled. "Just listening."**

**"Keep going," I said. "What else are they saying?"**

**Tyson closed his eye again.**

**He hissed in the gruff man's voice: "Quiet!" Then Luke's voice, whispering: "Are you sure?"**

**"Yes," Tyson said in the gruff voice. "Right outside."**

"You've been discovered," said Athena

**Too late, I realized what was happening.**

**I just had time to say, "Run!" when the doors of the stateroom burst open and there was Luke, flanked by two hairy giants armed with javelins, their bronze tips aimed right at our chests.**

**"Well," Luke said with a crooked smile. "If it isn't my two favorite cousins. Come right in."**

"Well I can honestly say Luke isn't my favorite cousin," said Percy

"Then who is?" smirked Thalia, sure that she was going to be it.

"Yeah, Perce, who is it?" asked Nico, sure that _he_ was going to be it.

"My favorite cousin is," said Percy, "Bianca."

"Are you serious?" asked Thalia, while Nico's jaw dropped

"I hate you so much right now," said Nico, "how could you like my own sister over me?"

"Because she was able to put up with you for over 70 years," said Percy, causing everyone to laugh, while Nico pouted.

**The stateroom was beautiful, and it was horrible.**

**The beautiful part: Huge windows curved along the back wall, looking out over the stern of the ship. Green sea and blue sky stretched all the way to the horizon. A Persian rug covered the floor. Two plush sofas occupied the middle of the room, with a canopied bed in one corner and a mahogany dining table in the other. The table was loaded with food—pizza boxes, bottles of soda, and a stack of roast beef sandwiches on a silver platter.**

**The horrible part: On a velvet dais at the back of the room lay a ten-foot-long golden casket. A sarcophagus, engraved with Ancient Greek scenes of cities in flames and heroes dying grisly deaths. Despite the sunlight streaming through the windows, the casket made the whole room feel cold.**

**"Well," Luke said, spreading his arms proudly. "A little nicer than Cabin Eleven, huh?"**

"Not if you're there," said Nico

**He'd changed since the last summer. Instead of Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt, he wore a button-down shirt, khaki pants, and leather loafers. His sandy hair, which used to be so unruly, was now clipped short. He looked like an evil male model, showing off what the fashionable college-age villain was wearing to Harvard this year.**

"Thanks," said Luke, trying to make himself look better in AJ's eyes

"I doubt it's a compliment," said PJ, deflating Luke a bit while AJ snickered.

**He still had the scar under his eye—a jagged white line from his battle with a dragon. And propped against the sofa was his magical sword, Backbiter, glinting strangely with its half-steel, half-Celestial bronze blade that could kill both mortals and monsters.**"

"So he does end up giving it to me," mused Luke

"Why would you want a sword like that?" asked AJ

"Aren't you only supposed to harm mortals when necessary?" asked PJ

"Mortals are the worst end of it," said Luke, "they need to know what's happening, and once they do, then they'll revolt against the gods."

"Yeah, right," said Leo, "like they're going to stand a chance against us demigods."

**"Sit," he told us. He waved his hand and three dining chairs scooted themselves into the center of the room.**

**None of us sat.**

**Luke's large friends were still pointing their javelins at us. They looked like twins, but they weren't human. They stood about eight feet tall, for one thing, and wore only blue jeans, probably because their enormous chests were already shag-carpeted with thick brown fur. They had claws for fin gernails, feet like paws. Their noses were snout like, and their teeth were all pointed canines.**

"They sound familiar," mused Aphrodite

Artemis, however, knew who they were.

**"Where are my manners?" Luke said smoothly. "These are my assistants, Agrius and Oreius. Perhaps you've heard of them."**

**I said nothing. Despite the javelins pointed at me, it wasn't the bear twins who scared me.**

**I'd imagined meeting Luke again many times since he'd tried to kill me last summer. I'd pictured myself boldly standing up to him, challenging him to a duel.**

**But now that we were face-to-face, I could barely stop my hands from shaking.**

"Ha!" said Luke, "Because you know that you can't beat me in a duel."

"Then why were you hiding behind you're bear guards?" asked Leo

"I wasn't hiding behind them," said Luke

"Are you sure?" asked Leo

"Luke," said Annabeth, "you were hiding behind them. Honestly, whenever Percy would challenge you to a duel, you'd mostly avoid it."

**"You don't know Agrius and Oreius's story?" Luke asked. "Their mother ... well, it's sad, really. Aphrodite ordered the young woman to fall in love. She refused and ran to Artemis for help. Artemis let her become one of her maiden huntresses, but Aphrodite got her revenge. She bewitched the young woman into falling in love with a bear. When Artemis found out, she abandoned the girl in disgust. Typical of the gods, wouldn't you say? They fight with one another and the poor humans get caught in the middle.**

"It's not like we try to get the humans to get stuck in the way," said Poseidon

"Though we do get into fights a lot," said Athena

**The girl's twin sons here, Agrius and Oreius, have no love for Olympus. They like half-bloods well enough, though ..."**

**"For lunch," Agrius growled. His gruff voice was the one I'd heard talking with Luke earlier.**

**"Hehe! Hehe!" His brother Oreius laughed, licking his fur-lined lips. He kept laughing like he was having an asthmatic fit until Luke and Agrius both stared at him.**

"That must have been weird," said Apollo

"More than you could ever know," said Percy

**"Shut up, you idiot!" Agrius growled. "Go punish yourself!"**

**Oreius whimpered. He trudged over to the corner of the room, slumped onto a stool, and banged his forehead against the dining table, making the silver plates rattle.**

"This guy makes Leo seem like a genius," said Piper, causing Leo to indignantly cry, "Hey!" while everyone else laughed.

**Luke acted like this was perfectly normal behavior. He made himself comfortable on the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Well, Percy, we let you survive another year. I hope you appreciated it. How's your mom? How's school?"**

**"You poisoned Thalia's tree."**

**Luke sighed. "Right to the point, eh? Okay, sure I poisoned the tree. So what?"**

"You have your proof now?" asked Percy

"Okay," said Luke, "Maybe I was lying."

"Dude, stop kidding yourself," said PJ, "You know you poisoned her tree, I know you poisoned her tree, even _Leo_ knows you poisoned her tree, so just deal with it."

"I still think I didn't poison it," said Luke

**"How could you?" Annabeth sounded so angry I thought she'd explode. "Thalia saved your life!**_**Our**___**lives! How could you dishonor her—"**

"I would never dishonor Thalia," said Luke

"Fat chance of that not happening," said Thalia, "you dishonored my death when you started listening to the Time Titan."

**"I didn't dishonor her!" Luke snapped. "The gods dishonored her, Annabeth! If Thalia were alive, she'd be on my side."**

"Liar!" said AJ

"Fat chance of that happening," snorted Thalia, "Do you really think that I would leave all my friends and family just because I was upset with the gods?"

"Yes," said Luke, causing Percy, PJ, AJ, Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia to face-palm

"You don't know me at all," said thalia

**"Liar!"**

**"If you knew what was coming, you'd understand—"**

**"I understand you want to destroy the camp!" she yelled. "You're a monster!"**

"That's an insult to monsters everywhere," said Nico

"I must be the best looking monster then," said Luke, ignoring Nico

"Best looking?" asked PJ, "I bet they only gave that to you because you were closest with the Time Titan, am I right?"

Everyone laughed as Luke scowled at PJ. He scowled even more when AJ laughed along with PJ and gave him a high-five without even a second glance at him.

**Luke shook his head. "The gods have blinded you. Can't you imagine a world without them, Annabeth? What good is that ancient history you study? Three thousand years of baggage! The West is rotten to the core. It has to be destroyed. Join me! We can start the world anew. We could use your intelligence, Annabeth."**

"Yeah," said AJ, "because you have none of your own."

"I have plenty of intelligence," said Luke

"Says that guy that walked right into a butter factory demanding that they give him all their food and clothing," snorted Thalia

Once again, everyone was laughing at Luke's expense

**"Because you have none of your own!"**

**His eyes narrowed. "I know you, Annabeth. You deserve better than tagging along on some hopeless quest to save the camp. Half-Blood Hill will be overrun by monsters within the month. The heroes who survive will have no choice but to join us or be hunted to extinction. You really want to be on a losing team ... with company like this?"**

**Luke pointed at Tyson.**

"Yes," said Annabeth

"It's better than company like this," said PJ, pointing to Luke

Like the times before, laughter spread across the room as Luke scowled, deepening it when AJ gave PJ another high-five. This time, they looked into each other's eyes and held their gaze for a second before turning away blushing madly.

Hermes and Aphrodite both noticed this, and thought that Luke may have feelings for AJ or Annabeth that she won't return. Hermes also noticed that Luke scowled every time, and decided to try and not laugh at every joke mad at his son's expense.

**"Hey!" I said.**

**"Traveling with a**_**Cyclops**_**," Luke chided. "Talk about dishonoring Thalia's memory! I'm surprised at you, Annabeth. You of all people—"**

**"Stop it!" she shouted.**

**I didn't know what Luke was talking about, but Annabeth buried her head in her hands like she was about to cry.**

"I could feel the tears coming," said Annabeth, "but I didn't want to look weak."

"Sometimes it's okay to cry," said PJ, "sometimes it shows you care and love someone if you cry."

**"Leave her alone," I said. "And leave Tyson out this."**

**Luke laughed. "Oh, yeah, I heard. Your father claimed him."**

**I must have looked surprised, because Luke smiled. "Yes, Percy, I know all about that. And about your plan to find the Fleece. What were those coordinates, again ... 30, 31, 75, 12? You see, I still have friends at camp who keep me posted."**

"Spies, you mean," said Jason

"So others have been getting dreams too," said Luke, "and listening."

**"Spies, you mean."**

**He shrugged. "How many insults from your father can you stand, Percy? You think he's grateful to you? You think Poseidon cares for you any more than he cares for this monster?"**

"Yes," said Percy and PJ

**Tyson clenched his fists and made a rumbling sound down in his throat.**

**Luke just chuckled. "The gods are so using you, Percy. Do you have any idea what's in store for you if you reach your sixteenth birthday? Has Chiron even **_**told**___**you the prophecy?"**

"What prophecy, may I ask?" asked Sally

"There's a prophecy about Percy," said Annabeth, "that says that when he reaches his sixteenth birthday, he'll make a choice that will either save or destroy Olympus."

"Talk about pressure," said PJ

**I wanted to get in Luke's face and tell him off, but as usual, he knew just how to throw me off balance.**

_**Sixteenth birthday?**_

**I mean, I knew Chiron had received a prophecy from the Oracle many years ago. I knew part of it was about me. But,**_**if**___**I reached my sixteenth birthday? I didn't like the sound of that.**

**"I know what I need to know," I managed. "Like, who my enemies are."**

"Know who you're enemies are," said Ares, "and keep them closer than your friends."

**"Then you're a fool."**

**Tyson smashed the nearest dining chair to splinters. "Percy is not a fool!"**

**Before I could stop him, he charged Luke. His fists came down toward Luke's head—a double overhead blow that would've knocked a hole in titanium—but the bear twins intercepted. They each caught one of Tyson's arms and stopped him cold. They pushed him back and Tyson stumbled. He fell to the carpet so hard the deck shook.**

"Strong kid," whistled Apollo

**"Too bad, Cyclops," Luke said. "Looks like my grizzly friends together are more than a match for your strength. Maybe I should let them—"**

**"Luke," I cut in. "Listen to me. Your father sent us."**

"Word of advice kid," said Luke, "_never_ mention my father in front of me."

**His face turned the color of pepperoni. "Don't—**_**even**_**— mention him."**

**"He told us to take this boat. I thought it was just for a ride, but he sent us here to find you. He told me he won't give up on you, no matter how angry you are."**

_**"Angry?"**___**Luke roared. "**_**Give up on me?**___**He abandoned me, Percy!**

"It wasn't by choice," said Hermes, "I would have stayed to help you if I just had the chance."

Luke, however, didn't seem to be affected.

**I want Olympus destroyed! Every throne crushed to rubble! You tell Hermes it's going** **to happen, too. Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger.**_**He**___**grows stronger." Luke pointed to the gold sarcophagus.**

**The box creeped me out, but I was determined not to show it. "So?" I demanded. "What's so special ..."**

**Then it hit me, what might be inside the sarcophagus. The temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees. "Whoa, you don't mean—"**

**"He is re-forming," Luke said. "Little by little, we're calling his life force out of the pit. With every recruit who pledges our cause, another small piece appears—"**

Many glared at Luke, while PJ just looked confusedly at him, asking, "Where'd you get the sarcophagus?"

"How should I know?" asked Luke, "This is in my future."

"No need to get sassy," said AJ, "he was just asking a question."

"A stupid question," said Luke

"No, that question wasn't stupid," said AJ, "but the way you reacted was."

"I know, right," said PJ, "usually people wouldn't snap at someone asking a question, even if they're annoyed."

"Well too bad," said Luke

"Hey!" cried AJ, "Don't speak to Percy like that! At least he tries to help others. You're the one who's trying to help the someone who'll just destroy gain power."

"Enough!" cried Zeus, "We'll discuss this later."

**"That's disgusting!" Annabeth said.**

**Luke sneered at her. "Your mother was born from Zeus's split skull, Annabeth. I wouldn't talk.**

"That is a low blow right there Luke," said Percy, angrily, "if it weren't for the fact that you're needed alive for later, I would _so_ kill you right now."

**Soon there will be enough of the titan lord so that we can make him whole again. We will piece together a new body for him, a work worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."**

"If it has to do with the Titans," said Hephaestus, "no work is worthy of my forges."

**"You're insane," Annabeth said.**

**"Join us and you'll be rewarded. We have powerful friends, sponsors rich enough to buy this cruise ship and much more. Percy, your mother will never have to work again. You can buy her a mansion. You can have power, fame—whatever you want.**

"How about a good husband for my mom?" asked PJ, "One that loves her just as much as I do and one that she'll love as well."

"We could do that," said Luke

"Luke, you don't know how love works," said Aphrodite, "you just can't go around getting people together and say that they love each other. It just doesn't work that way."

"Besides," said Percy, "Mom already found someone who loves her just as much as we do, and she loves him too."

"Who?" asked PJ, Sally, and Poseidon

"Paul Blowfish," said Percy

"Blowfish?" asked Poseidon and PJ

"Excuse Percy," said Annabeth, "he's just being water-bogged again. His name is actually Paul Blowfis, not Blowfish."

"Good creatures they are," said Poseidon, "blowfish. Very temperamental though."

**Annabeth, you can realize your dream of being an architect. You can build a monument to last a thousand years. A temple to the lords of the next age!"**

"What if I like the lords of this age?" asked Annabeth and AJ

**"Go to Tartarus," she said.**

**Luke sighed. "A shame."**

**He picked up something that looked like a TV remote and pressed a red button. Within seconds the door of the stateroom opened and two uniformed crew members came in, armed with nightsticks. They had the same glassy-eyed look as the other mortals I'd seen, but I had a feeling this wouldn't make them any less dangerous in a fight.**

**"Ah, good, security," Luke said, "I'm afraid we have some stowaways."**

**"Yes, sir," they said dreamily.**

**Luke turned to Oreius. "It's time to feed the Aethiopian drakon. Take these fools below and show them how it's done."**

"Why do I have a feeling that Percy, Annabeth and Tyson are going to be monster-feed soon?" asked Poseidon

**Oreius grinned stupidly. "Hehe! Hehe!"**

**"Let me go, too," Agrius grumbled. "My brother is worthless. That Cyclops—"**

**"Is no threat," Luke said. He glanced back at the golden casket, as if something were troubling him. "Agrius, stay here. We have important matters to discuss."**

**"But—"**

**"Oreius, don't fail me. Stay in the hold to make sure the drakon is properly fed."**

**Oreius prodded us with his javelin and herded us out of the stateroom, followed by the two human security guards.**

**As I walked down the corridor with Oreius's javelin poking me in the back, I thought about what Luke had said—that the bear twins**_**together**___**were a match for Tyson's strength. But maybe separately …**

"Cyclopes could take them on," said Artemis

**We exited the corridor amidships and walked across an open deck lined with lifeboats. I knew the ship well enough to realize this would be our last look at sunlight. Once we got to the other side, we'd take the elevator down into the hold, and that would be it.**

**I looked at Tyson and said, "Now."**

**Thank the gods, he understood. He turned and smacked Oreius thirty feet backward into the swimming pool, right into the middle of the zombie tourist family.**

**"Ah!" the kids yelled in unison. "We are**_**not**___**having a blast in the pool!"'**

"Neither am I," said Apollo

"You're not even in a pool," said Artemis

"Maybe I was mentally," said Apollo

"I was talking physically," said Artemis

**One of the security guards drew his nightstick, but Annabeth knocked the wind out of him with a well-placed kick. The other guard ran for the nearest alarm box.**

**"Stop him!" Annabeth yelled, but it was too late.**

**Just before I banged him on head with a deck chair, he hit the alarm.**

**Red lights flashed. Sirens wailed.**

**"Lifeboat!" I yelled.**

**We ran for the nearest one.**

**By the time we got the cover off, monsters and more security men were swarming the deck, pushing aside tourists and waiters with trays of tropical drinks. A guy in Greek armor drew his sword and charged, but slipped in a puddle of piña colada.**

"Wow," laughed Hermes

"Karma's a bi—," started Percy, but was interrupted by Sally, "Percy!"

"Sorry," said Percy, "Karma's a biotch."

"What's a biotch?" asked AJ

"You'll find out later," said Annabeth

**Laistrygonian archers assembled on the deck above us, notching arrows in their enormous bows.**

**"How do you launch this thing?" screamed Annabeth.**

**A hellhound leaped at me, but Tyson slammed it aside with a fire extinguisher.**

**"Get in!" I yelled. I uncapped Riptide and slashed the first volley of arrows out of the air. Any second we would be overwhelmed.**

**The lifeboat was hanging over the side of the ship, high above the water. Annabeth and Tyson were having no luck with the release pulley.**

"You probably could have done it, couldn't you?" asked Thalia

"Yeah, probably," said Percy, "if only I had known about that power at the time."

**I jumped in beside them.**

**"Hold on!" I yelled, and I cut the ropes.**

**A shower of arrows whistled over our heads as we free-fell toward the ocean.**

"That's nice," said Leo

"No," said Poseidon, "that's _not_ nice at all."


	13. Chapter 13

"I think that we should read one more chapter before dinner," said Athena, "and then after that, we take a break, depending on the time, but I think we should have the demigods go to bed at least by 9:00, or sooner. How does that sound?"

As everyone nodded his or her consent, the robot read on.

**We Hitch a Ride with Dead Confederate**

**"Thermos!" I screamed as we hurtled toward the water.**

_**"What?"**___**Annabeth must've thought I'd lost my mind.**

"I kind of did," said Annabeth

**She was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, her hair flying straight up like a torch.**

**But Tyson understood. He managed to open my duffel bag and take out Hermes's magical thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat.**

"Never thought I'd see the day Annabeth didn't know what Percy was talking about," said Nico

"Oh, please," said Annabeth, "this is before we became the best best friends you could find."

**Arrows and javelins whistled past us.**

**I grabbed the thermos and hoped I was doing the right thing. "Hang on!"**

**"I**_**am**___**hanging on!" Annabeth yelled.**

"Then hang on tighter," shrugged PJ

**"Tighter!"**

"Percy doesn't change much, does he?" asked Thalia

"Neither does Annabeth," pointed out PJ

"Well, at least you'll be smarter in this dimension," said Annabeth

"Dimension?" asked Luke

"Yeah, dimension," said Annabeth, "because me, Percy, Thalia, Nico, Leo, Piper, and Jason are all from a future where this has already taken place. The fact that Lil Percy, Lil me, younger Sally, and younger you are here and are finding out what's going to happen is going to change things in the future. I don't know whether it's for better or for worse, but it's definitely different from where we came from, so it's going to be a different dimension."

"I didn't get any of that," said Leo

"Neither did I," said Jason, and Luke mentally agreed, though his outward signs seemed to show that he knew what he was saying.

"I think I get it," said PJ, "but just so I'm sure, what you're saying is that the fact that me, my mom, the Annabeth from my time, and Luke from two years from now are now reading and finding out what's going to happen caused a split from your dimension, where none of you, as far as you know, actually knew what to expect, and because of that, we're making a new dimension?"

"Yup," said Annabeth

"Okay then," said PJ

"You just confused me," said Luke

"Not me," said AJ, "I actually understood Percy."

"Okay," said Hermes, "back to the book."

**I hooked my feet under the boat's inflatable bench, and as Tyson grabbed Annabeth and me by the backs of our shirts, I gave the thermos cap a quarter turn.**

**Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled us sideways, turning our downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing.**

**The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the thermos, like it was glad to be free.**

"Probably was," said Hermes

**As we hit the ocean, we bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then we were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in our faces and nothing but sea ahead.**

**I heard a wail of outrage from the ship behind us, but we were already out of weapon range. The**_**Princess Andromeda**___**faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.**

**As we raced over the sea, Annabeth and I tried to send an Iris-message to Chiron. We figured it was important we let somebody know what Luke was doing, and we didn't know who else to trust.**

"That's a good idea," said Athena

**The wind from the thermos stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight—perfect for an Iris-message—but our connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show us Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was some kind of weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.**

"Not a dance club," said AJ, "his relatives."

"Relatives?" asked PJ

"He's related to the Party Ponies," said AJ, "who're basically party-obssessed centaurs who roam around the country partying and getting drunk."

"They're awesome," said Dionysus

"You only like them for their parties and wine, don't you Dio?" asked Apollo expecting an answer, but the look on Dionysus's face gave him what he was looking for.

**We told him about sneaking away from camp, and Luke and the**_**Princess Andromeda**___**and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on our end, I'm not sure how much he heard.**

**"Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—"**

**His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.**

**"What?" I yelled.**

**"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered** **somewhere out of sight.**

**"Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Percy leave camp!** **But if you**_**do**___**get the Fleece—"**

**"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woo-hoooooo!"**

**The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made our boat vibrate.**

**"—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—"**

**Our misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.**

"Probably because a bottle had been thrown at it," said Hermes

**An hour later we spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on our starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. I guess it isn't every day they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids.**

"It isn't," said Poseidon

"Of course you would know," said Athena, "what do you do? Keep an eye on the coast guards and help them out?"

"Actually, I do from time to time, said Poseidon, "especially when I'm bored during meetings."

"You can do that?" asked Leo

"And more," said Poseidon, with a twinkle in his eye.

**"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as we approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the**_**Princess Andromeda**___**travel so far overnight? That's like—"**

**"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," I said.**

"How did you know that?" asked AJ

"Perfect bearings out at sea," said Percy

"Though it only works when he's at sea," said Annabeth

"Yeah, I'm working on that," said Percy, "right know, I've gotten down having perfect bearings in bodies of water smaller than seas but no bigger than a puddle. I've just started practicing with only cups of water, and after that, I'm going with smaller and smaller things before trying it with water molecules in the air."

"That sounds really cool," said Leo, before turning to Jason, "can you do that in the air?"

"No," said Jason, "but I haven't tried, so don't take my word for it."

Everyone turned to Thalia, who shrugged, "I've never tried flying before."

**She stared at me. "How did you know that?"**

**"I—I'm not sure."**

**Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"**

**"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," I said immediately. Then I shook my head. "Whoa. How did I know that?"**

**"Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is**_**so**_**cool."**

"Even Athena's daughter agrees it's cool," said Apollo

"You know," whispered both Percy's to their respective Annabeths without realizing it, "if this had happened while our parents' feud was still going on, imagine what your mom's reaction would have been."

Both Annabeth's shivered at how close the Percys were talking to them (their mouths were practically by their ears), and they felt the good kind of tingles do down their spine, but both were able to manage a smile at the thought.

**I wasn't sure about that. I didn't want to be a human GPS unit. But before I could say anything, Tyson tapped my shoulder. "Other boat is coming."**

**I looked back. The coast guard vessel was definitely on our tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.**

**"We can't let them catch us," I said. "They'll ask too many questions."**

**"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide."**

**I didn't ask what she meant, or how she knew the area so well. I risked loosening the thermos cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent us rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. We didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered the mouth of a river.**

"This is how I feel as I go from salt water to fresh water," said Percy

**I could feel the change from salt water to fresh water. Suddenly I was tired and frazzled, like I was coming down off a sugar high. I didn't know where I was anymore, or which way to steer the boat. It was a good thing Annabeth was directing me.**

"Good thing indeed," said Poseidon

**"There," she said. "Past that sandbar."**

"Are you seriously letting that _thing_ come in there?" snarled Luke

"Hey!" said AJ, "that _thing_ has a name: it's Tyson."

"And yes," said Annabeth, "I'm letting Tyson come in there."

**We veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. I beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress.**

**Vine-covered trees loomed above us. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river. Basically, it wasn't Manhattan, and I didn't like** **it.**

"Favoritism, much?" asked Thalia

"More like homesick," said Percy, cauaing Sally to smile, knowing that Percy meant more than missing Manhatten.

**"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."**

**"What is?" I asked.**

**"Just follow." She grabbed a duffel bag. "And**_**we'd**___**better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."**

**After burying the lifeboat with branches, Tyson and I followed Annabeth along the shore, our feet sinking in red mud. A snake slithered past my shoe and disappeared into the grass.**

**"Not a good place," Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm.**

**After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."**

**All I saw was a patch of brambles. Then Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, and I realized I was looking into a camouflaged shelter.**

**The inside was big enough for three, even with Tyson being the third. The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty water proof. Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout—sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too— bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty, like it had been vacant for a long time.**

**"A half-blood hideout." I looked at Annabeth in awe. "You**_**made**___**this place?"**

"Well, not just me," said AJ, "it was more like me, Thalia, and Luke."

"I did all the work," said Luke

"Yeah," said Thalia, "but you wre grumpy most of the time. Besides, you wanted to take care of Annabeth while I did all of the work."

"Really?" asked PJ, "Haven't you ever been taught to do the work for the girls? Especially pretty ones."

"Who is it?" asked Sally seemingly rude, though those who knew her knew it was just her motherly instincts coming out. PJ simply got up and whispered it in her ear, and came back with a blush. He sat down next to AJ, though not as close as before, but the space quickly closed as AJ slid closer to him. She kept a hand near him, and he kept his over hers unknowingly. They both looked at their hands, and retracted them

**"Thalia and I," she said quietly. "And Luke."**

**That shouldn't have bothered me. I mean, I knew Thalia and Luke had taken care of Annabeth when she was little.**

**I knew the three of them had been runaways together, hiding from monsters, surviving on their own before Grover found them and tried to get them to Half-Blood Hill. But whenever Annabeth talked about the time she'd spent with them, I kind of felt ... I don't know. Uncomfortable?**

"That's not it," said Nico, smiling

"It's something else," said Thalia, mock thinking, "What was it?"

**No. That's not the word.**

**The word was**_**jealous.**_

"That's it!" exclaimed Thalia, "Percy was jealous!"

Percy buried his face in Annabeth's hair, while Annabeth looked down, sad that she had spent so much time trying to prove to everyone that the Luke she knew was still in there, that she didn't realize how that might have affected them, especially Percy, whom she had a crush on since he had rescued her from holding up the world.

"So it began when they were 13?" asked Piper, "And they still didn't realize it?"

"Girl," said Thalia, "even the 10 year-olds don't realize it."

"What about us?" asked PJ and AJ simultaneously, before blushing after realizing what they did.

"Case and point," said Thalia, gesturing towards the blushing 10-year-olds, who were looking everywhere except the other, except now, they were blushing more than they were after speaking simultaneously.

**"So ..." I said. "You don't think Luke will look for us here?"**

**She shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."**

"I'd probably remember," said Luke, "and care about them."

"Yeah right," scoffed Annabeth, "you'd be more worried about getting You-Know-Who all patched up then you would be about our safe houses."

**She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.**

**"Um, Tyson?" I said. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"**

**"Convenience store?"**

**"Yeah, for snacks. Powdered donuts or something. Just don't go too far."**

"Funny how that's almost exactly what you got," whispered Annabeth

**"Powdered donuts," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered donuts in the wilderness." He headed outside and started calling, "Here, donuts!"**

"He is so cute!" squealed Aphrodite

"You just can't help but love Tyson," said Annabeth

"He has grown on me," said Apollo, "though now I'm in the mood for donut hunting."

"I can honestly say that I still hate Tyson," said Luke, "Cyclopes are bad news."

"Not all are," said Percy, "Maybe the one you ran into was, but not all."

**Once he was gone, I sat down across from Annabeth. "Hey, I'm sorry about, you know, seeing Luke."**

**"It's not your fault." She unsheathed her knife and started cleaning the blade with a rag.**

**"He let us go too easily," I said.**

**I hoped I'd been imagining it, but Annabeth nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. What we overheard him say about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait'... I think he was talking about us."**

**"The Fleece is the bait? Or Grover?"**

"That is the good question," said Athena

**She studied the edge of her knife. "I don't know, Percy. Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself. Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just can't believe he would poison the tree."**

**"What did he mean," I asked, "that Thalia would've been on his side?"**

"No I wouldn't," said Thalia

"Luke's wrong," said AJ

**"He's wrong."**

"You're right, like always," whispered PJ, causing AJ to look away while blushing.

**"You don't sound sure."**

**Annabeth glared at me, and I started to wish I hadn't asked her about this while she was holding a knife.**

**"Percy, you know who you remind me of most?**_**Thalia.**___**You guys are so much alike it's scary. I mean, either you would've been best friends or you would've strangled each other."**

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" asked Piper

"You can't forget Nico either," said Annabeth, "I'm surprised Jason isn't acting up like the other Big Three kids."

Everyone turned to Jason, who just shrugged, "It was kind of forced into me when to speak and when not to speak, and what to say exactly."

"I doubt Percy's going to be able to do that," said Sally, "he does tend to not abide by the rules."

"That's only when it's rules he can't live by," said Thalia, "or if it's someone not Annabeth, you, Paul, or the gods, Mrs. Jackson."

"Oh, please," said Sally, "call me Sally, I insist, and this is for all of you kids."

Thalia nodded

**"Let's go with 'best friends.'"**

"That's only half the time," said Thalia

"The other half," continued Percy

"We're arguing," finished Nico

**"Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. So do you. Would**_**you**___**turn against Olympus because of that?"**

**I stared at the quiver of arrows in the corner. "No."**

**"Okay, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth stuck her knife blade into the dirt.**

**I wanted to ask her about the prophecy Luke had mentioned and what it had to do with my sixteenth birth day. But I figured she wouldn't tell me. Chiron had made it pretty clear that I wasn't allowed to hear it until the gods decided otherwise.**

"Which pretty much sucked," said Percy, "because here's this all powerful Prophecy that I'm supposedly going to fulfill, and I can't even hear about it until a few months before it takes place."

**"So what did Luke mean about Cyclopes?" I asked. "He said you of all people—"**

**"I know what he said. He ... he was talking about the**_**real**___**reason Thalia died."**

**I waited, not sure what to say.**

"There wasn't much you could have said anyways," said AJ

**Annabeth drew a shaky breath. "You can never trust a Cyclops, Percy. Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill—"**

Everyone leaned in to listen as to why Annabeth and Luke acted the way they did towards Tyson.

**She was interrupted when the door of the hut creaked open. Tyson crawled in.**

**"Powdered donuts!" he said proudly, holding up a pastry box.**

**Annabeth stared at him. "Where did you get that? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around for—"**

**"Fifty feet," Tyson said. "Monster Donut shop—just over the hill!"**

**"This is bad," Annabeth muttered.**

**We were crouching behind a tree, staring at the donut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked brand new, with brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot. We could see one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. That was it. On the store's marquis, in huge black letters that even I could read, it said:**

**MONSTER DONUT**

"Aren't those a chain in New York?" asked PJ

"Yes, they are," said AJ, "but the thing is, they're tied to the life force of some monster, usually a hydra. Once you chop off the head of a hydra, when it grows it's two heads, one more Monster Donut chain pops up somewhere."

**A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the**_**O**_**in**_**MONSTER.**___**The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate donuts.**

**"This shouldn't be here," Annabeth whispered. "It's wrong."**

**"What?" I asked. "It's a donut shop."**

**"Shhh!"**

**"Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."**

_**"He's**___**a monster."**

**"Aw, c'mon, Annabeth. Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."**

**"A chain," she agreed. "And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you told Tyson to get donuts? Right here in the middle of the woods?"**

"It does seem a little weird," said PJ

**I thought about it. It did seem a little weird, but, I mean, donut shops weren't real high on my list of sinister forces.**

**"It could be a nest," Annabeth explained.**

**Tyson whimpered. I doubt he understood what Annabeth was saying any better than I did, but her tone was making him nervous.**

**He'd plowed through half a dozen donuts from his box and was getting powdered sugar all over his face.**

**"A nest for what?" I asked.**

**"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?" she asked. "One day there's nothing and then the next day—**_**boom,**___**there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four— exact replicas spreading across the country?"**

"No," said Leo

"Commercialism" asked PJ

"That's not it," said Luke, "It's consumerism."

"No, Percy's right," said AJ, "it would be commercialism, for the mortals anyway, because they would see it as some big corporation looking for profit, right?"

"Yes, you're right," nodded Athena

**"Um, no. Never thought about it."**

**"Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed—"**

**She froze.**

"What color was the ice?" asked Leo

"Excuse me?" asked Annabeth

"I asked what color the ice was," said Leo, "Percy said that you had frozen, so I need to know the color of the ice so I can bring out the right flame."

"He didn't mean it in the sense that she froze in ice you idiot!" said Piper.

**"What?" I demanded. "They breed what?"**

**"No—sudden—moves," Annabeth said, like her life depended on it.**

**"Very slowly, turn around."**

**Then I heard it: a scraping noise, like something large dragging its belly through the leaves.**

**I turned and saw a rhino-size**_**thing**___**moving through the shadows of the trees. It was hissing, its front half writhing in all different directions. I couldn't understand what I was seeing at first. Then I realized the thing had multiple necks—at least seven, each topped with a hissing reptilian head. Its skin was leathery, and under each neck it wore a plastic bib that read: I'm A MONSTER DONUT KID!**

"Okay, that just ruined the scariness," said Thalia

"How is it that half the monsters Percy meets," said Nico, "have some sort of comical attribute to them? I mean, first is the Minotaur with his underwear, then it's this hydra with a bib. I mean, really?"

"I guess you see more comical stuff on monsters when you attract as much as I do," shrugged Percy

**I took out my ballpoint pen, but Annabeth locked eyes with me—a silent warning.**_**Not yet.**_

**I understood. A lot of monsters have terrible eyesight. It was possible the Hydra might pass us by. But if I uncapped my sword now, the bronze glow would certainly get its attention.**

"Good plan," said Athena

**We waited.**

**The Hydra was only a few feet away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Then I noticed that two of the heads were rip ping apart a piece of yellow canvas—one of our duffel bags. The thing had already been to our campsite. It was following our scent.**

**My heart pounded. I'd seen a stuffed Hydra-head trophy at camp before, but that did nothing to prepare me for the real thing. Each head was diamond-shaped, like a rattlesnake's,** **but the mouths were lined with jagged rows of sharklike teeth.**

**Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward us and hissed.**

**"Scatter!" Annabeth yelled. She dove to the right.**

**I rolled to the left. One of the Hydra heads spat an arc of green liquid that shot past my shoulder and splashed against an elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight toward Tyson, who still hadn't moved, petrified by the monster that was now right in front of him.**

**"Tyson!" I tackled him with all my might, knocking him aside just as the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads.**

"Tackling a cyclopes," said Hephaestus, "no easy feat boy. You should be proud."

"Not my proudest moment," said Percy

"Then what is it?" asked PJ

"It'll come up," said Percy, subtly looking at Annabeth

**The Hydra stumbled backward, yanking its heads free then wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid, and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.**

**"Move!" I told Tyson. I ran to one side and uncapped Riptide, hoping to draw the monster's attention.**

**It worked.**

**The sight of celestial bronze is hateful to most monsters. As soon as my glowing blade appeared, the Hydra whipped toward it with all its heads, hissing and baring its teeth.**

"That doesn't sound good," said Poseidon

**The good news: Tyson was momentarily out of danger. The bad news: I was about to be melted into a puddle of goo.**

**One of the heads snapped at me experimentally. Without thinking, I swung my sword.**

**"No!" Annabeth yelled.**

**Too late. I sliced the Hydra's head clean off. It rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon.**

**In a matter of seconds the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head. Now I was looking at an eight-headed Hydra.**

"That's worse," said Leo

**"Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Donut shop somewhere!"**

**I dodged a spray of acid. "I'm about to die and you're worried about**_**that**_**? How do we kill it?"**

"Really Annabeth?" asked Thalia

"When you think about it," said Annabeth, "if you do open up another Monster Donut shop, who knows where it'll be, and that spot might just give the monster who's life force is attached to the shop a bigger territory to wander through, hence a more likely chance of coming across a demigod and harming them."

**"Fire!" Annabeth said. "We have to have fire!"**

**As soon as she said that, I remembered the story. The Hydra's heads would only stop multiplying if we burned the stumps before they regrew. That's what Heracles had done, anyway. But we had no fire.**

**I backed up toward river. The Hydra followed.**

**Annabeth moved in on my left and tried to distract one of the heads, parrying its teeth with her knife, but another head swung sideways like a club and knocked her into the muck.**

**"No hitting my friends!" Tyson charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Annabeth. As Annabeth got to her feet, Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists so fast it reminded me of the whack-a-mole game at the arcade.**

Everyone either cracked a smile or chuckled lightly.

**But even Tyson couldn't fend off the Hydra forever.**

**We kept inching backward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads without cutting them off, but I knew we were only postponing our deaths. Eventually, we would make a mistake and the thing would kill us.**

**Then I heard a strange sound—a chug-chug-chug that at first I thought was my heartbeat. It was so powerful it made the riverbank shake.**

"What's that noise?" asked AJ

**"What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra.**

**"Steam engine," Tyson said.**

**"**_**What?"**___**I ducked as the Hydra spat acid over my head.**

**Then from the river behind us, a familiar female voice shouted: "There! Prepare the thirty-two-pounder!"**

**I didn't dare look away from the Hydra, but if that was who I thought it was behind us, I figured we now had enemies on two fronts.**

"Oh great," said Poseidon, "just what they need, enemies on two fronts."

**A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, m'lady!"**

**"Damn the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"**

**"Aye, m'lady."**

**"Fire at will, Captain!"**

"Where the Hades is Will when you need him?" asked Leo, looking around

"Why do you need Will?" asked Piper

"Well, the book said to fire at Will," said Leo, "so I thought it meant to light him on fire."

"Leo," said Jason, "Fire at will means that you fire your guns, cannons, etc. when you're ready."

"Why didn't they just say so?" asked Leo

"It's an expression," said Piper

"No," said Leo, "an expression is what your face looks like when you're happy or sad."

"You're an idiot," said Piper

"Leo, you're weird," said Jason

**Annabeth understood what was happening a split second before I did.**

**She yelled, "Hit the dirt!" and we dove for the ground as an earth-shattering**_**BOOM**___**echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of us, showering us with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.**

"Gross," said AJ

**"Gross!" screamed Annabeth.**

**"Steamship!" yelled Tyson.**

**I stood, coughing from the cloud of gunpowder smoke that was rolling across the banks.**

**Chugging toward us down the river was the strangest ship I'd ever seen. It rode low in the water like a submarine, its deck plated with iron. In the middle was a trapezoid-shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top—a wild boar and spear on a blood red field. Lining the deck were zombies in gray uniforms— dead soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls, like the ghouls I'd seen in the Underworld guarding Hades's palace.**

**The ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser. I could just make out the name along the prow in moss-covered letters: CSS**_**Birmingham.**_

**And standing next to the smoking cannon that had almost killed us, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.**

"Clarisse?" asked Ares, "Yes! Finally, one of my kids got a quest."

"Where were you like two chapters ago?" asked Hermes, "We already knew for a while."

"Probably sleeping," said Ares

"You shouldn't sleep while reading a book," said Athena

**"Losers," she sneered. "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."**

"Suppose?" asked PJ

"That's just Clarisse being Clarisse," shrugged everyone who knew her.


	14. Chapter 14

"All right," said Hera, "time for dinner."

They all walked to the kitchen. Percy and Annabeth did so only because they wanted to talk with Percy's mom. When everyone arrived to the kitchen, Sally took on the job of making everyone a meal.

"Okay," said Sally, taking out a pencil and notepad, "What does everyone want?"

"Something blue," said Percy, PJ, Annabeth, AJ, Nico, and Thalia

The gods just told Sally that they'll just poof in their dinners, while Luke asked for PBJ (which he didn't want blue), Jason and Piper asked for Mac and Cheese, and Leo asked for dinosaur chicken nuggets (because they're the "best kind of Dinosaur nuggets you can find since the Dinosaur era). Hera, feeling sorry for the mom, helped Sally by getting her all the ingredients she needed and magic kitchen supplies to make the food finish faster. Once everyone was served, and eating (Sally had made Percy, PJ, Annabeth, AJ, Nico, and Thalia blue pasta), Sally sat down with her blue pasta.

"Why are you eating blue food?" asked Luke, "You know you're going to be like a Smurf some day, right?"

"That is such a lie," said Percy, "I've been eating blue food for years, and I'm still not a Smurf."

"Besides," said AJ, "blue food is awesome."

"Yeah," said PJ, "Especially if you eat blue pancakes and bleu Mac and Cheese together."

"When did you do that?" asked Sally

"Lunch," said PJ, "I was eating blue pancakes and Annabeth was eating blue Mac and Cheese, and she thought it tasted really good, so I said that blue food coloring makes anything taste better, and she told me to prove it, and so I offered her some of my pancakes, and when she tasted it, she agreed as well that blue food is awesome, and then she asked if she could have some of my pancakes, so I let her have some as long as I can get some of her Mac and Cheese, and then she took some of my pancakes, and I then took some of her Mac and Cheese, and somewhere along the way, we ended up eating the two things together."

"Hold on," said Annabeth, "why are you asking about blue food now? Why not during lunch?"

"I just thought that PJ accidently dropped something blue in their food," shrugged Luke, "I wasn't really paying much attention."

"Anyways," said AJ, "I am _so_ eating as much blue food in the future as I can."

"You should," said PJ, "because if we do become Smurfs, then we can be like the only boy and girl Smurf we'd know."

"Agreed," said AJ

Soon everyone was finished, and Sally was once again in the kitchen. As everyone waited for their food to settle down, Sally came out with two plates filled with blue cookies, as she said, "Okay you guys, I got desert."

"Percy, your mom is awesome!" said Leo, taking a cookie

Both Percys were too busy stuffing their faces with blue cookies to respond. The same thing could be said about Nico and Thalia, and soon Leo. Piper, Jason, and both Annabeths were barely able to get three before they were all gone, but they agreed the Sally was awesome and so was her cooking, especially her cookies.

"You are awesome Mrs. J," said Apollo

"Please, milord," said Sally, "call me Sally. Mrs. Jackson, or anything like it, makes me sound old."

"Oh please mom," said Percy, "you're not old at all. You're like young compared to other people."

Soon, everyone was done eating cookies, and it was time for their break before sleeping at 9:00, which was in a half-hour. As most of the gods went to do what they want, the demigods went to Poseidon's room to talk, as Sally and Poseidon went for a walk.

"So, Percy," said Jason, "How do you like the other camp?"

"It's pretty good," said Percy, "there are a lot of nice people, but Reyna's kind of strict and Octavian pretty much creeps me out."

"He creeps everyone out," said Jason.

"Who's Reyna?" asked Annabeth

"Oh, you remember Hylla?" asked Percy

"Oh, she was the servant for that witch, right?" asked Annabeth

"Yeah," said Percy, "Reyna and Hylla are sisters who used to live there, and after we released the pirates, they were captured, but they eventually escaped, and Reyna made it to the other camp and Hylla became leader of the Amazons. Both of them don't like us because they think that we set the pirates free and ruined their home on purpose, but I think I cleared our names in their book."

"Pirates?" asked Leo, "You met with pirates?"

"Black Beard, to be exact," said Annabeth

"We meet Black Beard?" asked PJ

"And steal his ship," said Percy

"That is so awesome!" said PJ

"You know he was a son of Ares, right?" asked AJ

"Considering the fact that most Ares kids hate me," said PJ, "I bet he hates me as well."

"Probably," said Percy

"Well," said Jason, "I'm going to sleep."

"I'm coming with you," said Piper

"I'm going to my room to build something," said Leo

"I'm sleeping," said Nico and Thalia

"Wanna start now?" asked AJ

"Sure," said PJ, "but first you have to finish telling me how to conjugate verbs."

"Oh, that's easy if you know how to," said AJ, before they went to on one of the beds and started the study session.

"So, Annabeth," said Luke, "what's our relationship in the future?"

"We haven't really talked in a while," said Annabeth, "like 8 months in fact."

"Wait, what? Why?" asked Luke, surprised that he was out of her life for 8 months. Then again, he was out of her life for about seven months since the first book and the second, and he thought that that would be the longest it would ever be. He really hoped that eventually, Annabeth would join him and go against the gods.

"Well, you see," said Annabeth, "I've kind of been spending those months looking for Percy here, who's been missing from our camp."

"Where'd he go?" asked Luke

"To a different camp," said Percy, "but it was against my will, and it was necessary for me to go."

"Am I still alive in the future?" asked Luke, hoping that he is, but the looks on Percy's and Annabeth's faces tell him otherwise. "Ho-How did I die?"

"You, um, you were killed," said Annabeth, looking down and seemed to get sadder

"You weren't killed," said Percy, though Annabeth didn't do anything to him for disagreeing with her, "you sacrificed yourself for the gods."

"Bullshit," snarled Luke, "I'm never going to do anything to help the gods, not now, not ever."

"You may think that now," said Percy, "but when the time comes, you will be thinking otherwise. You're dad knows your fate, Luke, that's why he doesn't want you to side with the Time Titan."

"Bah!" said Luke, "Those are lies! He doesn't want me to side with milord because of that! He doesn't want me to be on this side because he doesn't want to lose his seat of power. They all don't. Know one thing, Jackson, you won't make me change side just because my father told you something. For all you know, he could have been lying!"

"I could see the honesty in his eyes, Luke," said Percy, "he really loves you and your mom, and you siding with the Titans isn't making it any easier."

"Words don't tell anything about a person," said Luke, "actions do. I doubt you're even any good at sword fighting."

"Luke, don't," said Annabeth, "he could beat you easily."

"Yeah right," said Luke, "you're just saying that because you don't want your boyfriend to lose. I challenge you, Jackson, to a fight tomorrow at the first break after lunch."

"I accept," said Percy

"Percy!" cried Annabeth, "Don't fight him! You could severely injure him."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jackson," spat Luke as he stormed out of the room

"Annabeth listen," said Percy, turning to his girlfriend, "don't worry. Luke's being an idiot. I'll try not to injure him too much, but I'm not making any promises. I'm not going to try and kill him, either. You worry too much."

"Well, it's not my fault you always get into trouble," said Annabeth, moving out of Percy's arm and sitting on the open bed.

"Well, it's not my fault trouble seems to find me," joked Percy, "now come on, I believe you promised me something."

"I do believe I did," said Annabeth, turning to Percy, as they started kissing, and soon making out on the bed as their younger versions somehow didn't even know it was going on while they continued their study session on the other bed.

At 9:00 exactly, Athena's voice rang out around the rooms: "Demigods! It's 9:00, so finish up what you were doing and go to sleep."

As AJ and PJ cleaned up the bed they divide in two and sleep on, Percy and Annabeth tidy up their bed from the intense make out session they just had, before lying in it and falling asleep in each others arms.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Okay, just a heads up so no one finds out where I live and kills me (anywhere but the US), starting Monday, I have finals, so depending on how much time I can get on a computer, I may only be able to update once or twice. No worries though, after next week, my school's out, and I'll be able to update more often.**

The next morning, during breakfast, everyone could feel the tension between Percy, Luke, and Annabeth. It was also the time when Percy and Luke's match was announced, and everyone agreed that they would do it _before_ lunch, instead of after, so that there's less likely of cramps (Sally didn't want Percy to go through with it, but after much talking, allowed him to do it as long as it was before lunch).

Everyone then made their way to the throne room, and started reading again.

**Clarisse Blows Up Everything**

"Atta girl," cheered Ares

**"You are in**_**so**___**much trouble," Clarisse said.**

**We'd just finished a ship tour we didn't want,**

"Too bad, punks," said Ares, "if my daughter wants to give you a tour, she'll give you a tour."

"Thank Poseidon it's not you," said Percy, causing everyone to laugh

"You're welcome," said Poseidon, as everyone laughed even harder

**through dark rooms overcrowded with dead sailors. We'd seen the coal bunker, the boilers and engine, which huffed and groaned like it would explode any minute. We'd seen the pilothouse and the powder magazine and gunnery deck (Clarisse's favorite) with two Dahlgren smoothbore cannons on the port and starboard sides and a Brooke nine-inch rifled gun fore and aft—all specially refitted to fire celestial bronze cannon balls.**

**Everywhere we went, dead Confederate sailors stared at us, their ghostly bearded faces shimmering over their skulls. They approved of Annabeth because she told them she was from Virginia. They were interested in me, too, because my name was Jackson—like the Southern general—but then I ruined it by telling them I was from New York.**

"Of course you did," said Nico

**They all hissed and muttered curses about Yankees.**

**Tyson was terrified of them. All through the tour, he insisted Annabeth hold his hand, which she didn't look too thrilled about.**

**Finally, we were escorted to dinner. The CSS**_**Birmingham**_**captain's quarters were about the size of a walk-in closet, but still much bigger than any other room on board. The table was set with white linen and china. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, and Dr Peppers were served by skeletal crewmen. I didn't want to eat anything served by ghosts,** **but my hunger overruled my fear.**

"I would have eaten anything made by ghosts, or skeletons for that matter," said Nico, "as long as they're not from the fields of punishments."

"Skeletons usually serve me," said Hades

**"Tantalus expelled you for eternity," Clarisse told us smugly. "Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."**

"He wouldn't," said Poseidon, glaring at the Wine God.

**"Did**_**they**___**give you this ship?" I asked.**

**"'Course not. My father did."**

"Ares?" asked Nico

_**"Ares?"**_

**Clarisse sneered. "You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That's their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for a naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won't you, Captain?"**

"Of course they would," said Percy, "because if they didn't, she'll find some way to kill them again."

**The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed me with a hungry stare. "If it means an end to this infernal war, ma'am, peace at last, we'll do anything. Destroy anyone."**

**Clarisse smiled. "Destroy anyone. I like that."**

"Of course she would like it," said Thalia

"She is so Ares's daughter," said Athena

**Tyson gulped.**

**"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He's got the coordinates and he's heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters—"**

**"Good! I'll blow him out of the water."**

**"You don't understand," Annabeth said. "We have to combine forces. Let us help you—"**

"She's not going to let you, is she?" asked Jason

"Nope," said Annabeth

"Didn't think so," said Jason

**"No!" Clarisse pounded the table. "This is**_**my**___**quest, smart girl!**

**Finally**_**I**___**get to be the hero, and you two will**_**not**___**steal my chance."**

"I don't think Percy's trying to be a hero," said AJ

**"Where are your cabin mates?" I asked. "You were allowed to take two friends with you, weren't you?"**

**"They didn't ... I let them stay behind. To protect the camp."**

"Good," said Athena, "that way, if camp's attacked, then there'd be more defenders."

**"You mean even the people in your own cabin wouldn't help you?"**

**"Shut up, Prissy! I don't need them! Or you!"**

**"Clarisse," I said, "Tantalus is using you. He doesn't care about the camp. He'd love to see it destroyed. He's setting you up to fail."**

"Somehow I don't doubt that," said PJ

"Of course you wouldn't doubt yourself," said Luke

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked PJ, narrowing his eyes

"Luke, this is between you and older Percy," said AJ, "leave Percy out of this."

"Why should I?" asked Luke

"Because it's only between you and me," said Percy, "not Lil me."

"Fine," said Luke, "but only because I don't want ot be arguing with a stupid little kid."

"This stupid little kid has a Big 3 father," said PJ, "and friends who can kick your butt, so shut up."

"Gladly," said Luke, "if it means not having to hear your stupid voice."

"Okay, that's it," said PJ, before lunging at Luke. AJ quickly got up and tried to hold him back, and Sally did the same

"Luke," said Annabeth, "you should probably shut up. When Percy gets mad, there's no telling which of his powers he'll use."

"Fine," said Luke, and this time made no comment against Percy or PJ, who was now sitting in between AJ and Sally, glaring at Luke.

**"No! I don't care what the Oracle—" She stopped herself.**

"What about an Oracle?" asked PJ

"It's someone who can tell the future," said AJ, "usually through a prophecy."

**"What?" I said. "What did the Oracle tell you?"**

**"Nothing." Clarisse's ears turned pink.**

**"All you need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're**_**not**___**helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go ..."**

"So, basically prisoners," said AJ

**"So we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.**

**"Guests. For now." Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr Pepper. "Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."**

**The dream came as soon as I fell asleep.**

**Grover was sitting at his loom, desperately unraveling his wedding train, when the boulder door rolled aside and the Cyclops bellowed, "Aha!"**

"AHA!" yelled Apollo louder

"What now?" asked Artemis

"I don't know," said Apollo, "I just did it to out yell the robot."

**Grover yelped. "Dear! I didn't—you were so quiet!"**

"I know," said Poseidon, "surprising isn't it? Cyclopes can be quiet if they want to."

**"Unraveling!" Polyphemus roared. "So that's the problem!"**

"Depends," said Hermes, "who's asking?"

**"Oh, no. I—I wasn't—"**

**"Come!" Polyphemus grabbed Grover around the waist and half carried, half dragged him through the tunnels of the cave. Grover struggled to keep his high heels on his hooves. His veil kept tilting on his head, threatening to come off.**

"It better not be cursing," said Apollo

**The Cyclops pulled him into a warehouse-size cavern decorated with sheep junk. There was a wool-covered La-Z-Boy recliner and a wool-covered television set, crude bookshelves loaded with sheep collectibles—coffee mugs shaped like sheep faces, plaster figurines of sheep, sheep board games, and picture books and action figures.**

"Why would a cyclopes need action figures?" asked Luke

"Why do you need a sword with mortal steel and celestial bronze?" asked Percy

**The floor was littered with piles of sheep bones, and other bones that didn't look exactly like sheep—the bones of satyrs who'd come to the island looking for Pan.**

**Polyphemus set Grover down only long enough to move another huge boulder. Daylight streamed into the cave, and Grover whimpered with longing. Fresh air!**

**The Cyclops dragged him outside to a hilltop overlooking the most beautiful island I'd ever seen.**

**It was shaped kind of like a saddle cut in half by an ax. There were lush green hills on either side and a wide valley in the middle, split by a deep chasm that was spanned by a rope bridge. Beautiful streams rolled to the edge of the canyon and dropped off in rainbow-colored waterfalls. Parrots fluttered in the trees. Pink and purple flowers bloomed on the bushes. Hundreds of sheep grazed in the meadows, their wool glinting strangely like copper and silver coins.**

**And at the center of the island, right next to the rope bridge, was an enormous twisted oak tree with something glittering in its lowest bough.**

**The Golden Fleece.**

"Grover actually did find it," said AJ

**Even in a dream, I could feel its power radiating across the island, making the grass greener, the flowers more beautiful.**

**I could almost smell the nature magic at work. I could only imagine how powerful the scent would be for a satyr.**

**Grover whimpered.**

**"Yes," Polyphemus said proudly. "See over there? Fleece is the prize of my collection! Stole it from heroes long ago, and ever since—free food! Satyrs come from all over the world, like moths to flame. Satyrs good eating! And now—"**

**Polyphemus scooped up a wicked set of bronze shears.**

"He better not," said AJ

"If he did," said PJ, "I'm personally going down there and kicking some Cyclopes butt, brother or no brother."

"I'm coming with you," said AJ, as they shook hands to seal the deal.

**Grover yelped, but Polyphemus just picked up the nearest sheep like it was a stuffed animal and shaved off its wool. He handed a fluffy mass of it to Grover.**

**"Put that on the spinning wheel!" he said proudly. "Magic. Cannot be unraveled."**

**"Oh ... well ..."**

**"Poor Honeypie!" Polyphemus grinned. "Bad weaver. Ha-ha! Not to worry. That thread will solve problem. Finish wedding train by tomorrow!"**

**"Isn't that ... thoughtful of you!"**

"He doesn't even have a brain," said Athena, "how can he think?"

**"Hehe."**

**"But—but, dear," Grover gulped, "what if someone were to rescue—I mean attack this island?" Grover looked straight at me, and I knew he was asking for my benefit.**

"I wouldn't be surprised," said AJ

"You know him so well," said Piper

"There's only one other person I know better," said Percy, looking pointedly at Annabeth, who blushed.

**"What would keep them from marching right up here to your cave?"**

**"Wifey scared! So cute! Not to worry. Polyphemus has state-of-the-art security system. Have to get through my pets."**

**"Pets?"**

**Grover looked across the island, but there was nothing to see except sheep grazing peacefully in the meadows.**

"Those are scary sheep," said Percy

"You're scared of sheep?" asked Luke, "What a loser."

"You haven't seen these sheep," said Annabeth

**"And then," Polyphemus growled, "they would have to get through me!"**

**He pounded his fist against the nearest rock, which cracked and split in half. "Now, come!" he shouted. "Back to the cave."**

**Grover looked about ready to cry—so close to freedom, but so hopelessly far. Tears welled in his eyes as the boulder door rolled shut, sealing him once again in the stinky torch-lit dankness of the Cyclops's cave.**

**I woke to alarm bells ringing throughout the ship.**

"For some reason," said Apollo, "I just got a mental picture of bells with legs, ringing as they ran around the ship."

**The captain's gravelly voice: "All hands on deck! Find Lady Clarisse! Where is that girl?"**

**Then his ghostly face appeared above me. "Get up, Yankee. Your friends are already above. We are approaching the entrance."**

**"The entrance to what?"**

**He gave me a skeletal smile. "The Sea of Monsters, of course."**

"Which entrance?" asked Athena

"Scylla and Charibdis," said Percy

**I stuffed my few belongings that had survived the Hydra into a sailor's canvas knapsack and slung it over my shoulder. I had a sneaking suspicion that one way or another I would not be spending another night aboard the CSS**_**Birmingham.**_

**I was on my way upstairs when something made me freeze. A presence nearby—something familiar and unpleasant. For no particular reason, I felt like picking a fight. I wanted to punch a dead Confederate. The last time I'd felt like that kind of anger …**

"Was from Ares," said Percy

**Instead of going up, I crept to the edge of the ventilation grate and peered down into the boiler deck.**

**Clarisse was standing right below me, talking to an image that shimmered in the steam from the boilers—a muscular man in black leather biker clothes, with a military haircut, red-tinted sunglasses, and a knife strapped to his side.**

**My fists clenched. It was my least favorite Olympian: Ares, the god of war.**

"Well you're my least favorite punk," said Ares

**"I don't want excuses, little girl!" he growled.**

"**Yes, father," Clarisse mumbled.**

**"You don't want to see me mad, do you?"**

**"No, father."**

_**"No, father,"**___**Ares mimicked. "You're pathetic. I should've let one of my**_**sons**___**take this quest."**

**"I'll succeed!" Clarisse promised, her voice trembling. "I'll make you proud."**

**"You'd better," he warned. "You asked me for this quest, girl. If you let that slime ball Jackson kid steal it from you—"**

"He really hates you," said Jason

"He's not the only one," said Percy, eyeing Luke, who was looking anywhere but Percy

**"But the Oracle said—"**

**"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT SAID!" Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered. "You**_**will**___**succeed. And if you don't ..."**

**He raised his fist. Even though he was only a figure in the steam, Clarisse flinched.**

"You'd threaten your own kid?" asked Aphrodite, "How low can you get?"

**"Do we understand each other?" Ares growled.**

**The alarm bells rang again. I heard voices coming toward me, officers yelling orders to ready the cannons.**

**I crept back from the ventilation grate and made my way upstairs to join Annabeth and Tyson on the spar deck.**

**"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked me. "Another dream?"**

**I nodded, but I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to think about what I'd seen downstairs. It bothered me almost as much as the dream about Grover.**

"Key word: almost," said Annabeth

**Clarisse came up the stairs right after me. I tried not to look at her.**

**She grabbed a pair of binoculars from a zombie officer and peered toward the horizon. "At last. Captain, full steam ahead!"**

**I looked in the same direction as she was, but I couldn't see much. The sky was overcast. The air was hazy and humid, like steam from an iron. If I squinted real hard, I could just make out a couple of dark fuzzy splotches in the distance.**

"Dark, fuzzy splotches?" asked Thalia

Percy just shrugged

**My nautical senses told me we were somewhere off the coast of northern Florida, so we'd come a long way overnight, farther than any mortal ship should've been able to travel.**

"Of course you'd know that," said AJ

"It's in my blood," shrugged PJ

**The engine groaned as we increased speed.**

**Tyson muttered nervously, "Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water."**

**I wasn't sure how he knew that, but it made me nervous.**

"We should have let him fix it then," said Annabeth

**After a few more minutes, the dark splotches ahead of us came into focus. To the north, a huge mass of rock rose out of the sea—an island with cliffs at least a hundred feet tall. About half a mile south of that, the other patch of darkness was a storm brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.**

"Nice place you got there," said Leo

"It's almost like how Thalia and Percy get when they're mad while near each other," said Annabeth

**"Hurricane?" Annabeth asked.**

**"No," Clarisse said. "Charybdis."**

**Annabeth paled. "Are you crazy?"**

**"Only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla." Clarisse pointed to the top of the cliffs, and I got the feeling something lived up there that I did not want to meet.**

"No you do not," said Sally, and Athena and Poseidon simply nodded

**"What do you mean the only way?" I asked. "The sea is wide open! Just sail around them."**

**Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Don't you know anything? If I tried to sail around them, they would just appear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you**_**have**___**to sail through them."**

**"What about the Clashing Rocks?" Annabeth said. "That's another gateway. Jason used it."**

"No I didn't," said Jason

"I meant Jason from the Argonauts," said Annabeth

**"I can't blow apart rocks with my cannons," Clarisse said. "Monsters, on the other hand …"**

"That's stupid," said Leo

"Actually, it's kind of smart," said PJ, "cuz, if you can't get past the Clashing Rocks, then you'd die, no questions asked. But this way gives you a chance to live. See, if you get taken by Scylla, then you can try and get her to release you, and with the right ship, you can use the vortex around Charybdis to go past her."

"Say what?" asked Leo, completely confused. Ares wasn't too far behind either.

"You have a better chance of getting past Scylla and Charibdis," said Piper

**"You**_**are**___**crazy," Annabeth decided.**

**"Watch and learn, Wise Girl." Clarisse turned to the captain. "Set course for Charybdis!"**

**"Aye, m'lady."**

**The engine groaned, the iron plating rattled, and the ship began to pick up speed.**

"The ship's engine needs better tuning," said Poseidon, "it doesn't sound like it's made for open seas."

**"Clarisse," I said, "Charybdis sucks up the sea. Isn't that the story?"**

**"And spits it back out again, yeah."**

**"What about Scylla?"**

**"She lives in a cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come** **down and start plucking sailors off the ship."**

**"Choose Scylla then," I said. "Everybody goes below deck and we chug right past."**

**"No!" Clarisse insisted. "If Scylla doesn't get her easy meat, she might pick up the whole ship. Besides, she's too high to make a good target. My cannons can't shoot straight up. Charybdis just sits there at the center of her whirlwind. We're going to steam straight toward her, train our guns on her, and blow her to Tartarus!"**

**She said it with such relish I almost wanted to believe her.**

"Almost," smiled PJ

"Please tell me you make it," said Sally

"Don't worry," said Percy, "anyone alive makes it."

**The engine hummed. The boilers were heating up so much I could feel the deck getting warm beneath my feet. The smokestacks billowed. The red Ares flag whipped in the wind.**

**As we got closer to the monsters, the sound of Charybdis got louder and louder—a horrible wet roar like the galaxy's biggest toilet being flushed. Every time Charybdis inhaled, the ship shuddered and lurched forward. Every time she exhaled, we rose in the water and were buffeted by ten-foot waves.**

**I tried to time the whirlpool. As near as I could figure, it took Charybdis about three minutes to suck up and destroy everything within a half-mile radius. To avoid her, we would have to skirt right next to Scylla's cliffs. And as bad as Scylla might be, those cliffs were looking awfully good to me.**

**Undead sailors calmly went about their business on the spar deck. I guess they'd fought a losing cause before, so this didn't bother them. Or maybe they didn't care about getting destroyed because they were already deceased. Neither thought made me feel any better.**

"They shouldn't," said Poseidon

**Annabeth stood next to me, gripping the rail. "You still have your thermos full of wind?"**

**I nodded. "But it's too dangerous to use with a whirl pool like that. More wind might just make things worse."**

**"What about controlling the water?" she asked. "You're Poseidon's son. You've done it before.**

"I doubt it would work," said Athena, "Charybdis's whirlpool might be too fast."

"It was worth a shot," shrugged Annabeth

**She was right. I closed my eyes and tried to calm the sea, but I couldn't concentrate.**

**Charybdis was too loud and powerful. The waves wouldn't respond.**

**"I—I can't," I said miserably.**

**"We need a backup plan," Annabeth said. "This isn't going to work."**

**"Annabeth is right," Tyson said. "Engine's no good."**

**"What do you mean?" she asked.**

**"Pressure. Pistons need fixing."**

**Before he could explain, the cosmic toilet flushed with a mighty**_**roaaar!**_

"Cosmic toilet powers Activate!" yelled Apollo, Hermes, and Leo

**The ship lurched forward and I was thrown to the deck. We were in the whirlpool.**

**"Full reverse!" Clarisse screamed above the noise. The sea churned around us, waves crashing over the deck. The iron plating was now so hot it steamed. "Get us within firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!"**

**Dead Confederates rushed back and forth. The propeller grinded into reverse, trying to slow the ship, but we kept sliding toward the center of the vortex.**

**A zombie sailor burst out of the hold and ran to Clarisse. His gray uniform was smoking. His beard was on fire. "Boiler room overheating, ma'am! She's going to blow!"**

"If you're going to give a ship," said PJ, "at least give one that can handle the voyage."

**"Well, get down there and fix it!"**

**"Can't!" the sailor yelled. "We're vaporizing in the heat."**

**Clarisse pounded the side of the casemate. "All I need is a few more minutes! Just enough to get in range!"**

**"We're going in too fast," the captain said grimly. "Prepare yourself for death."**

**"No!" Tyson bellowed. "I can fix it."**

**Clarisse looked at him incredulously. "You?"**

"Unbelievable, right?" asked Annabeth, as Luke and AJ stared at the book with the thought that a Cyclopes could be helpful

**"He's a Cyclops," Annabeth said. "He's immune to fire. And he knows mechanics."**

**"Go!" yelled Clarisse.**

**"Tyson, no!" I grabbed his arm. "It's too dangerous!"**

**He patted my hand. "Only way, brother." His expression was determined—confident, even. I'd never seen him look like this before. "I will fix it. Be right back."**

**As I watched him follow the smoldering sailor down the hatch, I had a terrible feeling.**

"Oh great," said Poseidon, "that's never a good sign."

**I wanted to run after him, but the ship lurched again—and then I saw Charybdis.**

**She appeared only a few hundred yards away, through a swirl of mist and smoke and water. The first thing I noticed was the reef—a black crag of coral with a fig tree clinging to the top, an oddly peaceful thing in the middle of a maelstrom. All around it, water curved into a funnel, like light around a black hole. Then I saw the horrible thing anchored to the reef just below the waterline—an enormous mouth with slimy lips and mossy teeth the size of rowboats. And worse, the teeth had braces, bands of corroded scummy metal with pieces of fish and driftwood and floating garbage stuck between them.**

"Makes me want to date her," said Leo

"Makes me want to marry her," said Hermes

**Charybdis was an orthodontist's nightmare. She was nothing but a huge black maw with bad teeth alignment and a serious overbite, and she'd done nothing for centuries but eat without brushing after meals. As I watched, the entire sea around her was sucked into the void—sharks, schools of fish, a giant squid. And I realized that in a few seconds, the CSS**_**Birmingham**_**would be next.**

**"Lady Clarisse," the captain shouted. "Starboard and forward guns are in range!"**

**"Fire!" Clarisse ordered.**

**Three rounds were blasted into the monster's maw. One blew off the edge of an incisor. Another disappeared into her gullet. The third hit one of Charybdis's retaining bands and shot back at us, snapping the Ares flag off its pole.**

**"Again!" Clarisse ordered. The gunners reloaded, but I knew it was hopeless. We would have to pound the monster a hundred more times to do any real damage, and we didn't have that long. We were being sucked in too fast.**

"I didn't even need to know the speed to know we were going too fast," said Annabeth, "it was kind of obvious."

**Then the vibrations in the deck changed. The hum of the engine got stronger and steadier. The ship shuddered and we started pulling away from the mouth.**

**"Tyson did it!" Annabeth said.**

**"Wait!" Clarisse said. "We need to stay close!"**

**"We'll die!" I said. "We**_**have**___**to move away."**

**I gripped the rail as the ship fought against the suction. The broken Ares flag raced past us and lodged in Charybdis's braces. We weren't making much progress, but at least we were holding our own. Tyson had somehow given us just enough juice to keep the ship from being sucked in.**

**Suddenly, the mouth snapped shut. The sea died to absolute calm. Water washed over Charybdis.**

**Then, just as quickly as it had closed, the mouth exploded open, spitting out a wall of water, ejecting everything inedible, including our cannonballs, one of which slammed into the side of the CSS**_**Birmingham**_**with a**_**ding**___**like the bell on a carnival game.**

"I kind of want to go to the carnival now," said Hermes

"I call being the first on the ball toss," said Leo

**We were thrown backward on a wave that must've been forty feet high. I used all of my willpower to keep the ship from capsizing, but we were still spinning out of control, hurtling toward the cliffs on the opposite side of the strait.**

**Another smoldering sailor burst out of the hold. He stumbled into Clarisse, almost knocking them both over board. "The engine is about to blow!"**

"Oh boy," groaned Poseidon

Athena didn't look any better, while Ares was getting excited because of the action, not caring that his daughter was in trouble.

**"Where's Tyson?" I demanded.**

"Percy!" yelled Thalia and Nico, "Now is not the time to be worrying about him!"

"I can't help it," said Percy

"If I spent a school year helping him," said PJ, "I'm certainly not going to stop then."

**"Still down there," the sailor said. "Holding it together somehow, though I don't know for how much longer."**

**The captain said, "We have to abandon ship."**

**"No!" Clarisse yelled.**

**"We have no choice, m'lady. The hull is already cracking apart! She can't—"**

"You know it's bad when someone working for Ares says it's bad," said Percy, which causes everyone to laugh

**He never finished his sentence. Quick as lightning, something brown and green shot from the sky, snatched up the captain, and lifted him away. All that was left were his leather boots.**

"Were they a good kind?" asked Hermes

**"Scylla!" a sailor yelled, as another column of reptilian flesh shot from the cliffs and snapped him up. It happened so fast it was like watching a laser beam rather than a monster. I couldn't even make out the thing's face, just a flash of teeth and scales.**

**I uncapped Riptide and tried to swipe at the monster as it carried off another deckhand, but I was way too slow.**

**"Everyone get below!" I yelled.**

"It's in flames," said Luke

"At least I was trying to help," said Percy

**"We can't!" Clarisse drew her own sword. "Below deck is in flames."**

**"Lifeboats!" Annabeth said. "Quick!"**

**"They'll never get clear of the cliffs," Clarisse said. "We'll all be eaten."**

**"We have to try. Percy, the thermos."**

**"I can't leave Tyson!"**

**"We have to get the boats ready!"**

**Clarisse took Annabeth's command. She and a few of her undead sailors uncovered one of the two emergency rowboats while Scylla's heads rained from the sky like a meteor shower with teeth, picking off Confederate sailors one after another.**

"A meteor shower of teeth," said Apollo

"It said _with_ teeth, not of teeth," said Artemis

**"Get the other boat." I threw Annabeth the thermos. "I'll get Tyson."**

**"You can't!" she said. "The heat will kill you!"**

"Not instantaneously," said Poseidon, "my children have a high resistance to fire and lava, and heat."

"So, it'd take longer for me to burn you than Jason?" asked Leo

"You're not testing that out with either Percy," said Sally

**I didn't listen. I ran for the boiler room hatch, when suddenly my feet weren't touching the deck anymore. I was flying straight up, the wind whistling in my ears, the side of the cliff only inches from my face.**

**Scylla had somehow caught me by the knapsack, and was lifting me up toward her lair. Without thinking, I swung my sword behind me and managed to jab the thing in her beady yellow eye. She grunted and dropped me.**

**The fall would've been bad enough, considering I was a hundred feet in the air. But as I fell, the CSS**_**Birmingham**_**exploded below me.**

"What about Tyson, Annabeth, and Clarisse?" asked Athena

"Don't worry," said Percy, "they survived."

_**KAROOM!**_

**The engine room blew, sending chunks of ironclad flying in either direction like a fiery set of wings.**

**"Tyson!" I yelled.**

**The lifeboats had managed to get away from the ship, but not very far. Flaming wreckage was raining down. Clarisse and Annabeth would either be smashed or burned or pulled to the bottom by the force of the sinking hull, and that was thinking optimistically, assuming they got away from Scylla.**

"Of course that was," said Thalia

**Then I heard a different kind of explosion—the sound of Hermes's magic thermos being opened a little too far. White sheets of wind blasted in every direction, scattering the lifeboats, lifting me out of my free fall and propelling me across the ocean.**

**I couldn't see anything. I spun in the air, got clonked on the head by something hard, and hit the water with a crash that would've broken every bone in my body if I hadn't been the son of the Sea God.**

**The last thing I remembered was sinking in a burning sea, knowing that Tyson was gone forever, and wishing I were able to drown.**

"Well, that's the end of the chapter," said Athena

"I'm hungry," said Apollo

"You can flash food in, you know," said Artemis, then muttered, "Idiot."

"Good idea," said Apollo


	16. Chapter 16

**We Check in to C.C.'s Spa & Resort**

"Hold on," said Annabeth, as Percy buried his head into her hair, groaning, "before we go any further, I need all of you to swear on the Styx not to make fun of Percy for what happens in this chapter."

"Why should we do that?" asked Luke

"He gets really offended really quickly when you make fun of him for that," said Thalia, "everyone who knows about it has also sworn on the Styx."

"The last guy who made fun of Percy for this," said Nico, looking glum, "well, let's just say that he have to learn how to live without arms or legs."

Everyone just looked at Percy, who seemed to know that they were, when he said, "I don't want to talk about it. Just swear or I'll kill you."

"He's not kidding, you know," said Thalia, and everyone quickly swore, though Luke had to be forced into swearing by AJ, Thalia, Nico, and Poseidon.

"Thank you," said Percy, not lifting his head, "you can start know."

Annabeth turned around so she's straddling his lap, as she let him bury his head into the crux of her neck. She hugged Percy for two reasons: 1)So she wouldn't fall off, and 2) To comfort him, as she rubbed the back of his head as well.

**I woke up in a rowboat with a makeshift sail stitched of gray uniform fabric. Annabeth sat next to me, tacking into the wind.**

**I tried to sit up and immediately felt woozy.**

"I feel woozy whenever I drink boozy," said Leo

"Please tell me this kid doesn't drink," said Hephaestus, worried about his son, while Dionysus says, "please tell me this kid drinks."

"He doesn't," said Piper, "he's talking about root bear."

**"Rest," she said. "You're going to need it."**

**"Tyson ... ?"**

**She shook her head. "Percy, I'm really sorry."**

Everyone (who didn't know if Tyson made it or not) had started a moment of silence, while those who do know what happened or have met Tyson in the future, let them have it.

"Why is everyone so silent?" asked Luke, "It's just a stupid Cyclopes."

"Luke," said Hermes, eyeing the controlled face of Poseidon, "I suggest you keep the insults to a minimum about Cyclopes unless you want their father to come after you."

For once in a long time, Luke actually listened to his father.

**We were silent while the waves tossed us up and down.**

**"He may have survived," she said halfheartedly. "I mean, fire can't kill him."**

**I nodded, but I had no reason to feel hopeful. I'd seen that explosion rip through solid iron. If Tyson had been down in the boiler room, there was no way he could've lived.**

**He'd given his life for us, and all I could think about were the times I'd felt embarrassed by him and had denied that the two of us were related.**

"Here's the epiphany Percy has that makes him accept Tyson as a brother," said Thalia

**Waves lapped at the boat. Annabeth showed me some things she'd salvaged from the wreckage—Hermes's thermos (now empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailors' shirts, and a bottle of Dr Pepper.**

"Dr. Pepper makes all of life's troubles go away," said Leo

"Annabeth does that to me," mumbled Percy, though not many understood him. Those who did, which were mainly those who knew him the best, knew exactly what he said and grinned at him, except for Annabeth. She gave him a small kiss on his head before continuing to rub it.

**She'd fished me out of the water and found my knapsack, bitten in half by Scylla's teeth. Most of my stuff had floated away, but I still had Hermes's bottle of multivitamins, and of course I had Riptide. The ballpoint pen always appeared back in my pocket no matter where I lost it.**

"I still can't get over how awesome that is," said Leo

**We sailed for hours. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too—as if a thunderstorm were coming. Or something even more dangerous. I knew what direction we needed to go. I knew we were exactly one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by northwest of our destination. But that didn't make me feel any less lost.**

"That sucks," said Jason, thinking about when he didn't have his memories and felt lost even though he knew he was at the Grand Canyon or at Camp Half-Blood, "I know how you feel."

**No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from the Dr Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best we could. And we talked about my latest dream of Grover.**

**By Annabeth's estimate, we had less than twenty-four hours to find Grover, assuming my dream was accurate, and assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus didn't change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier.**

**"Yeah," I said bitterly. "You can never trust a Cyclops."**

**Annabeth stared across the water. "I'm sorry, Percy. I was wrong about Tyson, okay? I wish I could tell him that."**

"Wait a minute," said Thalia, turning to Annabeth, "Don't you always tell Percy to never judge a book by its cover?"

"When I tell _him_ that, I mean it literally," said Annabeth, "but to you guys, I'd use it on a more figurative level."

"You should really listen to your own advice sometimes," said Thalia

"Shush you," shushed Annabeth, frowning

"She right, you know?" mumbled Percy, head still on Annabeth's shoulder.

"I said shush," shushed Annabeth, this time smiling.

"Oh sure, he gets a smile when he's shushed," said Thalia, "and I get a frown when I'm shushed."

"Didn't I ask you to shush?" asked Annabeth, glaring at Thalia

**I tried to stay mad at her, but it wasn't easy.**

**We'd been through a lot together. She'd saved my life plenty of times. It was stupid of me to resent her.**

"That's not the only reason why it's hard for you to resent her," said Thalia, rolling her eyes.

"There are other reasons," said Nico

"Of course there are," said Percy, looking up for the first time since the start of the chapter, "like the fact that if I got mad at her, she'd get mad at me, and then we'd both be arguing big time, with no chance of stopping unless one of us apologizes."

**I looked down at our measly possessions—the empty wind thermos, the bottle of multivitamins. I thought about Luke's look of rage when I'd tried to talk to him about his dad.**

**"Annabeth, what's Chiron's prophecy?"**

"Way to be blunt, Waterboy," said Thalia

"Waterboy?" asked Annabeth, while Percy said, "That's a rare one."

"You've been called that before?" asked Thalia incredulously

"Yeah," said Percy, "the Stolls called me that during one of the summers right before I soaked them in water so that Katie can catch them."

"I call Aqua Dude," said Nico

"All yours," said Percy

**She pursed her lips. "Percy, I shouldn't—"**

**"I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell me. But**_**you**___**didn't promise, did you?"**

**"Knowledge isn't always good for you."**

"And this is coming from the daughter of the wisdom goddess?" asked Jason

**"Your mom is the wisdom goddess!"**

**"I know! But every time heroes learn the future, they try to change it, and it never works."**

**"The gods are worried about something I'll do when I get older," I guessed. "Something when I turn sixteen."**

"Not just you," said Thalia, "could have been me if I didn't join the Hunters, or Nico if something happened to you and me."

"Why you both?" asked Nico

"Well," said Thalia, "according to Apollo, I became a Hunter the day before I turned 16, so if what I think is true, then the day after I quit the Hunters, that is if something happened to Percy to stop him from fulfilling the prophecy, then I would be the prophecy child."

**Annabeth twisted her Yankees cap in her hands. "Percy, I don't know the full prophecy, but it warns about a half-blood child of the Big Three—the next one who lives to the age of sixteen. That's the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three who reaches sixteen will be a dangerous weapon."**

"Wait, I just realized," said Jason, "would the prophecy be handed down to _me_ if neither Percy nor Thalia were able to fulfill it?"

"I don't think so," said Percy, "because when I was at your camp, **(A/N the gods have already figured out that Percy had went to the Roman camp, but are not sure why yet)** they didn't even hear the prophecy we were talking about."

"They haven't heard the Great Prophecy?" asked Annabeth

"No," said Percy, "but apparently the Second Great Prophecy has been around for thousands of years in the Roman camp."

**"Why?"**

**"Because that hero will decide the fate of Olympus. He or she will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods, or destroys it."**

**I let that sink in. I don't get seasick, but suddenly I felt ill. "That's why Kronos didn't kill me last summer."**

**She nodded. "You could be very useful to him. If he can get you on his side, the gods will be in serious trouble."**

"You just admitted he was powerful right in front of him," said Thalia, "way to boost his ego at an early age."

"What ego?" asked Jason, confused, "the only think egotistical I've seen about him is when it's concerning Annabeth, blue food, or water."

"They're only kidding," said Percy, before proceeding to glare at Thalia and Nico, who smiled sheepishly, "Apparently, they don't think it's rude to make fun of someone's ego and knowledge, especially their cousins'."

**"But if it's**_**me**___**in the prophecy—"**

**"We'll only know that if you survive three more years. That can be a long time for a half-blood.** **When Chiron first learned about Thalia, he assumed**_**she**___**was the one in the prophecy.**

**That's why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. Then she went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree and none of us knew what to think. Until you came along."**

"Way to make me feel normal," said PJ, while Percy mumbled something incoherently that made Annabeth smile

"Sorry," shrugged Annabeth, who was now sitting on Percy's lap, facing away from her boyfriend, who had his chin on Annabeth's head

"Well, it is the truth," said AJ

"Never said it wasn't, Wise Girl," said PJ, causing AJ to blush, though some people there who noticed weren't sure whether it was out or embarrassment or something else.

**On our port side, a spiky green dorsal fin about fifteen feet long curled out of the water and disappeared.**

**"This kid in the prophecy ... he or she couldn't be like, a Cyclops?" I asked. "The Big Three have lots of monster children."**

"So you're telling me that I might have a monster sibling?" asked Nico

"I already have one," said Thalia, "his name is Jason."

"Speak for yourself Thalia," said Jason, as everyone else laughed

**Annabeth shook her head. "The Oracle said 'half-blood.' That always means half-human, half-god. There's really nobody alive who it could be, except you."**

**"Then why do the gods even let me live? It would be safer to kill me."**

"And many do want to kill you," sighed Annabeth

"I can't help it if I piss off gods," said Percy, "they shouldn't have pissed me off in the first place."

Those who didn't know Percy personally were surprised by how nonchalantly he talked about pissing the gods off.

"Percy, stop making the gods angry," said Sally

"Sorry mom," said Percy, "It's hard for me to follow directions."

**"You're right."**

**"Thanks a lot."**

**"Percy, I don't know. I guess some of the gods**_**would**___**like to kill you, but they're probably afraid of offending Poseidon. Other gods ... maybe they're still watching you, trying to decide what kind of hero you're going be. You could be a weapon for their survival, after all. The real question is ... what will you do in three years? What decision will you make?"**

**"Did the prophecy give any hints?"**

**Annabeth hesitated.**

"You knew something, didn't you?" asked Thalia

"I had a hunch," said Annabeth, "but I wasn't that sure of it."

**Maybe she would've told me more, but just then a sea gull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast. Annabeth looked startled as the bird dropped a small cluster of leaves into her lap.**

"Hate that seagull," mumbled Percy, but only Annabeth heard it.

**"Land," she said. "There's land nearby!"**

**I sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.**

"What kind of boats?" asked Poseidon

"I think the book'll explain it," said Percy, "if not, I will."

**The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.**

**"Welcome!" said the lady with the clipboard.**

**She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock. With the dazzling smile she gave us, you would've thought we'd just gotten off the**_**Princess Andromeda**___**rather than a banged-up rowboat.**

"Never trust cheery people," said Thalia

"Especially in the morning," nodded Nico

**Then again, our rowboat wasn't the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.**

"If only," said Percy

**"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired.**

**Annabeth and I exchanged looks. Annabeth said, "Umm ..."**

**"First—time—at—spa," the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see ..."**

"Spa?" asked Aphrodite, Athena, and Poseidon at the same time. Well, Aphrodite sort of squealed it.

**She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."**

"Why do I have this feeling that I'm not going to like this complete makeover?" asked Poseidon

"Once you get one," said Percy, shuddering, "you'll never look at the world the same way ever again."

**"A what?" I asked.**

**She was too busy jotting down notes to answer.**

**"Right!" She said with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."**

**Now here's the thing. Annabeth and I were used to traps, and usually those traps looked good at first. So I expected the clipboard lady to turn into a snake or a demon, or something, any minute.**

"Good," said Poseidon, "stay on your toes."

**But on the other hand, we'd been floating in a rowboat for most of the day. I was hot, tired, and hungry, and when this lady mentioned a luau, my stomach sat up on its hind legs and begged like a dog.**

**"I guess it couldn't hurt," Annabeth muttered.**

**Of course it could, but we followed the lady anyway. I kept my hands in my pockets where I'd stashed my only magic defenses—Hermes's multivitamins and Riptide— but the farther we wandered into the resort, the more I forgot about them.**

"Weird," mumbled Athena

**The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by watersides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.**

"Those horses must have made oyu kind of happy, right?" asked Thalia

"You have never been so far from the truth, young maiden," said Percy

"Why is that?" asked Thalia

**Tyson loved horses, and I knew he'd love those fountains. I almost turned around to see the expression on his face before I remembered: Tyson was gone.**

"Now I get it," said Thalia

**"You okay?" Annabeth asked me. "You look pale."**

**"I'm okay," I lied. "Just ... let's keep walking."**

"I kind of saw the fountain and guessed what you were thinking about," said Annabeth

**We passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests—only young women, as far as I could see—**

"Oh great," said Poseidon, "now I know why you'd hate this chapter."

"What is it?" asked Hermes

"I figured out what's going to happen to Percy," said Poseidon, sighing, "and let me tell you, I don't appreciate or like it one bit."

"What's going to happen?" asked Apollo

"Not telling," said Poseidon

**lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.**

**As we headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, I heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old—Minoan, maybe, or something like that. I could understand what she sang about—moonlight in the olive groves, the colors of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. Her voice seemed to lift me off the steps and carry me toward her.**

"Oh great," said Athena, "I cannot picture my daughter doing _that_."

"Doing what?" asked Aphrodite

"You'll find out," said Athena

Poseidon looked over, and asked Athena with his eyes whether she figured it out. Her nod gave him his answer.

**We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed out of place, but I didn't think about it too much, because just then I saw the lady who'd been singing ... and whoa.**

"This is going to be good," said Leo, rubbing his hands together.

**She sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional—a waterfall scene so real I could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.**

**Annabeth caught her breath. "It's beautiful."**

"So are you," mumbled Percy into Annabeth's hair. Annabeth simply smiled and leaned back into him.

**The woman turned. She was even prettier than her fabric.**

"You know," said PJ, whispering to AJ, "I think you're pretty too."

"Thanks," blushed AJ

**Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.**

**"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked.**

**"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth said. "My mother is—"**

Athena glared at Annabeth, who just smiled sheepishly

**She stopped herself. You couldn't just go around announcing that your mom was Athena, the goddess who invented the loom. Most people would lock you in a rubber room.**

**Our hostess just smiled. "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C."**

**The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must've been guinea pigs, from the sound of them.**

"Circe," mumbled Piper, but everyone heard her

"I think Medea is better than her," said Jason, "at least we could break out of her trance."

"I thought she turned men into pigs," said AJ

"She used to," said Percy, "now she turns them into guinea pigs because they're 'easier to handle' or something, and then gives them away to kindergartens around the nation."

"I'm never looking at a guinea pig the same way ever again," said PJ

"Wait, so you got turned into a guinea pig?" asked Leo

"Don't remind me," said Percy, burying his face into Annabeth's hair

"Dude, that'd be so awesome," said Leo, "you could have been like WHATCHA! FACE THE WRATH OF MY GUINEA PIG KUNG FU AND MY FEROCIOUS BITE!"

"You can't learn kung fu as a guinea pig," mumbled Percy

**We introduced ourselves to C.C. She looked me over with a twinge of disapproval, as if I'd failed some kind of test. Immediately, I felt bad. For some reason, I really wanted to please this lady.**

"Not anymore," said Percy, "there's only one lady that I want to please, and that's not counting gods."

Annabeth flushed at that, while Sally scolded Percy for implying such things while two ten-year olds are in the room.

**"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You**_**do**___**need my help."**

**"Ma'am?" I asked.**

**C.C. called to the lady in the business suit. "Hylla, take Annabeth on a tour, will you? Show her what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."**

"Just so you know," whispered Annabeth, looking up towards her boyfriend's face, "I never did like the look she gave you."

"I didn't like the one she didn't give you either," said Percy, "it just didn't say Annabeth Chase."

**"But ..." Annabeth's voice sounded hurt. "What's wrong with my hair?"**

"Nothing," said Percy and PJ, but this time both Annabeth's and PJ blushed.

"And it starts all over again," said Thalia

**C.C. smiled benevolently. "My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"**

**"Wasted?"**

"It's not wasted," said Percy

"Her hair's perfect the way it is," said PJ, blushing

AJ was also blushing, while Sally, Poseidon, Annabeth, Percy, Nico, Thalia, Piper, and Aphrodite watched on with smiles on their faces. No one noticed the scowl Luke had on his face.

**"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is.**

"I'm happy with the way you are," said Percy

"Same here," said Annabeth

"I like it," said PJ

**But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!"**

"What if it's already unlocked?" asked Percy

**Annabeth's eyes glowed with longing. I'd never seen her so much at a loss for words.**

**"But ... what about Percy?"**

"After all this time, you think of Percy?" asked Thalia

"I wanted to make sure nothing happened to him," said Annabeth, "well, either that or he gets the same thing as I did."

**"Oh, definitely," C.C. said, giving me a sad look. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs**_**much**___**more work than you."**

**Normally if somebody had told me that, I would've gotten angry, but when C.C. said it, I felt sad. I'd disappointed her. I had to figure out how to do better.**

**The guinea pigs squealed like they were hungry.**

**"Well ..." Annabeth said. "I suppose ..."**

**"Right this way, dear," Hylla said. And Annabeth allowed herself to be led away into the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa.**

**C.C. took my arm and guided me toward the mirrored wall. "You see, Percy ... to unlock your potential, you'll need serious help. The first step is admitting that you're not happy the way you are."**

"What if I am happy with the way I am," said Percy

**I fidgeted in the front of the mirror. I hated thinking about my appearance—like the first zit that had cropped up on my nose at the beginning of the school year, or the fact that my two front teeth weren't perfectly even, or that my hair never stayed down straight.**

"But I like it the way it is," said Annabeth

"And I like it when you keep your hair is as natural as possible," said Percy

**C.C.'s voice brought all of these things to mind, as if she were passing me under a microscope. And my clothes were not cool. I knew that.**

**Who cares? Part of me thought. But standing in front of C.C.'s mirror, it was hard to see anything good in myself.**

**"There, there," C.C. consoled. "How about we try ... this."**

**She snapped her fingers and a sky-blue curtain rolled down over the mirror. It shimmered like the fabric on her loom.**

**"What do you see?" C.C. asked.**

**I looked at the blue cloth, not sure what she meant. "I don't—"**

**Then it changed colors. I saw myself—a reflection, but not a reflection. Shimmering there on the cloth was a cooler version of Percy Jackson—with just the right clothes, a confident smile on my face. My teeth were straight. No zits. A perfect tan. More athletic. Maybe a couple of inches taller. It was me, without the faults.**

"It wouldn't be you if you didn't have your faults," said Thalia

"A person can't be unique unless they have faults that only they have," said Percy

**"Whoa," I managed.**

**"Do you want that?" C.C. asked. "Or shall I try a different—"**

**"No," I said. "That's ... that's amazing. Can you really—"**

**"I can give you a full makeover," C.C. promised.**

**"What's the catch?" I said. "I have to like ... eat a special diet?"**

"That's not it," said Poseidon

**"Oh, it's quite easy," C.C. said. "Plenty of fresh fruit, a mild exercise program, and of course ... this."**

**She stepped over to her wet bar and filled a glass with water. Then she ripped open a drink-mix packet and poured in some red powder. The mixture began to glow. When it faded, the drink looked just like a strawberry milk shake.**

**"One of these, substituted for a regular meal," C.C. said. "I guarantee you'll see results immediately."**

"I didn't like it at all," said Percy, frowning, once again burying his face in the crux of Annabeth's shoulder

"Neither did I Percy," said Annabeth, petting his hair, "neither did I."

**"How is that possible?"**

**She laughed. "Why question it? I mean, don't you want the perfect you right away?"**

**Something nagged at the back of my mind. "Why are there no guys at this spa?"**

**Oh, but there are," C.C. assured me. "You'll meet them quite soon. Just try the mixture. You'll see."**

**I looked at the blue tapestry, at the reflection of me, but not me.**

**"Now, Percy," C.C. chided. "The hardest part of the makeover process is giving up control. You have to decide: do you want to trust**_**your**___**judgment about what you should be, or**_**my**___**judgment?"**

**My throat felt dry. I heard myself say, "Your judgment."C.C. smiled and handed me the glass. I lifted it to my lips.**

**It tasted just like it looked—like a strawberry milk shake.**

**Almost immediately a warm feeling spread through my gut: pleasant at first, then painfully hot, searing, as if the mixture were coming to a boil inside of me.**

"That's never a good sign," said Thalia

**I doubled over and dropped the cup. "What have you ... what's happening?"**

**"Don't worry, Percy," C.C. said. "The pain will pass. Look! As I promised. Immediate results."**

**Something was horribly wrong.**

**The curtain dropped away, and in the mirror I saw my hands shriveling, curling, growing long delicate claws.**

**Fur sprouted on my face, under my shirt, in every uncomfortable place you can imagine. My teeth felt too heavy in my mouth. My clothes were getting too big, or C.C. was getting too tall—no, I was shrinking.**

**In one awful flash, I sank into a cavern of dark cloth. I was buried in my own shirt. I tried to run but hands grabbed me—hands as big as I was. I tried to scream for help, but all that came out of my mouth was,**_**"Reeet, reeet, reeet!"**_

**The giant hands squeezed me around the middle, lifting me into the air. I struggled and kicked with legs and arms that seemed much too stubby, and then I was staring, horrified, into the enormous face of C.C.**

**"Perfect!" her voice boomed. I squirmed in alarm, but she only tightened her grip around my furry belly. "See, Percy? You've unlocked your true self!"**

"That's not his true self at all!" said Thalia, "It'd be much better if he was a goldfish or something."

"I don't know whether that's a compliment or not," said PJ

"That's as close a compliment as you'll get from Thalia," said Percy

**She held me up to the mirror, and what I saw made me scream in terror,**_**"Reeet, reeet, reeet!"**___**There was C.C., beautiful and smiling, holding a fluffy, bucktoothed creature with tiny claws and white and orange fur. When I twisted, so did the furry critter in the mirror. I was ... I was ...**

**"A guinea pig,"** **C.C. said. "Lovely, aren't you? Men are pigs, Percy Jackson. I used to turn them into**_**real**___**pigs, but they were so smelly and large and difficult to keep. Not much different than they were before, really. Guinea pigs are much more convenient! Now come, and meet the other men."**

_**"Reeet!"**___**I protested, trying to scratch her, but C.C. squeezed me so tight I almost blacked out.**

**"None of that, little one," she scolded, "or I'll feed you to the owls. Go into the cage like a good little pet. Tomorrow, if you behave, you'll be on your way. There is always a classroom in need of a new guinea pig."**

**My mind was racing as fast as my tiny little heart. I needed to get back to my clothes, which were lying in a heap on the floor. If I could do that, I could get Riptide out of my pocket and ... And what? I couldn't uncap the pen. Even if I did, I couldn't hold the sword.**

**I squirmed helplessly as C.C. brought me over to the guinea pig cage and opened the wire door.**

**"Meet my discipline problems, Percy," she warned. "They'll never make good classroom pets, but they might teach you some manners. Most of them have been in this cage for three hundred years.**

"Yes," said Percy, "because they were part of Blackbeard's crew."

**If you don't want to stay with them permanently, I'd suggest you—"**

**Annabeth's voice called: "Miss C.C.?"**

**C.C. cursed in Ancient Greek. She plopped me into the cage and closed the door. I squealed and clawed at the bars, but it was no good. I watched as C.C. hurriedly kicked my clothes under the loom just as Annabeth came in.**

"I saw that," said Annabeth, "that's when I knew something was up."

**I almost didn't recognize her. She was wearing a sleeveless silk dress like C.C.'s, only white. Her blond hair was newly washed and combed and braided with gold. Worst of all,**

"And what was worst of all Percy?" asked Annabeth, turning around so she can face her boyfriend.

"You were wearing makeup," said Percy, "it ruins your look."

"Really now?" asked Annabeth, "How so?"

"You look much more beautiful without makeup," said Percy, "especially when you go for the natural look."

Everyone who knew Annabeth, but not that much of her relationship with Percy (*cough*Luke, Leo, Piper, and Jason*cough*), thought that she was going to smack him. Instead she surprised them by grinning and giving him a big kiss on the lips, both getting a bit dazed afterwards.

**she was wearing makeup, which I never thought Annabeth would be caught dead in. I mean, she looked good. Really good. I probably would've been tongue-tied if I could've said anything except**_**reet, reet, reet.**___**But there was also something totally wrong about it. It just wasn't Annabeth.**

"How would you know what is and isn't Annabeth?" asked Luke

"I know more about her than you do, Luke," said Percy

"Okay then," said Luke, "we'll see about that. What's her favorite color?"

"Sea-Green," said Percy

"Favorite Historic Figure?"

"Daedalus"

"Favorite piece of architecture"

"Parthenon"

"Favorite sport"

"Demigod sport would be either sparring or Capture the Flag; non-demigod sport would be baseball."

"Favorite Ice Cream Flavor"

"Rocky Road"

"Favorite Hero"

"If I'd have to guess, you"

"That's where you're wrong," interrupted Annabeth, preventing Luke from smugly smiling at Percy more than he should, "Luke's no longer my hero. Not after his behavior these past few chapters."

"Then who is your favorite hero?" asked Thalia

"That's for me to know," said Annabeth, smiling smugly, "and you to find out."

"DO we know him?" asked Nico

"Yes," said Annabeth, "yes you do, but that's all I'm saying."

**She looked around the room and frowned. "Where's Percy?"**

**I squealed up a storm, but she didn't seem to hear me.**

"I don't think you can squeal up a storm," said Leo

"It's just Percy being Percy," said Thalia, "the guy can't help but compare every single thing that blows his way to water."

"What about you and comparing things to air Pinecone Face?" asked Percy'

"Well it's natural for me, seeing who my dad is," said Thalia

**C.C. smiled. "He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry. You look wonderful! What did you think of your tour?"**

**Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Your library is amazing!"**

"Of course," said Thalia, "the library _must_ come first."

"Libraries are important," said Athena

"She never said they weren't, Lady Athena," said Percy, "she was just commenting on how Annabeth started talking about the library first."

**"Yes, indeed," C.C. said, "The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to**_**be,**___**my dear."**

**"An architect?"**

**"Pah!" C.C. said.** **"You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."**

**Annabeth took a step back. "A sorceress?"**

"That kind of threw me off-balance," said Annabeth, "but it kind of helped break me out of the trance she put me in."

**"Yes, my dear." C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athena when I see one. We are not so different, you and I. We both seek knowledge. We both admire greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men."**

**"I—I don't understand."**

**Again, I squealed my best, trying to get Annabeth's attention, but she either couldn't hear me or didn't think the noises were important.**

"Sorry," said Annabeth, "I thought they weren't important."

Percy mumbled something incoherent into Annabeth's hair, which probably wasn't good, considering the fact that she slapped him on his arm right after.

**Meanwhile, the other guinea pigs were emerging from their hutch to check me out. I didn't think it was possible for guinea pigs to look mean, but these did.**

**There were half a dozen, with dirty fur and cracked teeth and beady red eyes. They were covered with shavings and smelled like they really had been in here for three hundred years, without getting their cage cleaned.**

**"Stay with me," C.C. was telling Annabeth. "Study with me. You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"**

**"But—"**

**"You are too intelligent, my dear," C.C. said. "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"**

"There are a lot, actually," said Thalia

**"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart—"**

**"Bah! Men get all the glory." C.C. closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame.**

**"The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."**

"I love how she only sticks to magic," said Nico

**"You ... C.C. ... Circe!"**

**"Yes, my dear."**

**Annabeth backed up, and Circe laughed. "You need not worry. I mean you no harm."**

**"What have you done to Percy?"**

"You figure something out, and you ask about Percy?" asked Thalia, "How could you guys not figure out how perfect you two were and in love you were with each other?"

"Well, don't blame me," said Percy, "I would tried something if it weren't for the fact that I thought that Annabeth had loved Luke for most of the time."

Luke started looking smug, but no one noticed

"Sorry about that," said Annabeth, "I actually stopped loving him when you saved me. It was then I realized who my heart really belonged to, and I would have said something, but then Rachael came, and all that jazz happened."

Luke stopped looking smug, and instead took up a mask of no emotions when Annabeth talked about not loving him anymore

"So, what you're telling me is," said Thalia, "that neither of you said anything because you thought the other loved someone not you?"

The two nodded.

"How oblivious can you get?" asked Thalia

"If it's any consolation," said Percy, "you can blame Aphrodite for this. She did tell me that she was going to make my love life a tragic love life and have fun with it."

"Really Aphrodite?" asked Poseidon, "you could have seen how bad he was with girls, but just messing with his love life isn't going to help him."

"You don't have to reprimand her for me not getting girls," said Percy, "I barely get them as it is."

"You know," said Aphrodite, "I might be a little harsh when it comes to having games related to love. I'll try to not make your love life tragic, and to help you get the best out of it."

"Thank you Lady Aphrodite," said Percy

**"Only helped him realize his true form."**

**Annabeth scanned the room. Finally she saw the cage, and me scratching at the bars, all the other guinea pigs crowding around me. Her eyes went wide.**

**"Forget him," Circe said. "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."**

"I hate sorcery," said Jason

"Me too," said Piper, while Leo said, "Agreed."

**"But—"**

**"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him.** **Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."**

"Maybe I want Percy," said Annabeth, "have you ever thought of that?"

**Annabeth was still staring at me, but she had a dreamy expression on her face. She looked the same way I had when Circe enchanted me into drinking the guinea pig milk shake.**

**I squealed and scratched, trying to warn her to snap out of it, but I was absolutely powerless.**

"At the moment, yes," said Annabeth, "yes you were."

**"Let me think about it," Annabeth murmured. "Just... give me a minute alone. To say good-bye."**

**"Of course, my dear," Circe cooed. "One minute. Oh ... and so you have absolute privacy ..." She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room and I heard the locks on the door click shut behind her.**

"I don't think that was for absolute privacy," said Apollo

**The dreamy look melted off Annabeth's face.**

**She rushed over to my cage. "All right, which one is you?"**

**I squealed, but so did all the other guinea pigs. Annabeth looked desperate. She scanned the room and spotted the cuff of my jeans sticking out from under the loom.**

"I kind of guessed which one was you," said Annabeth, "but I didn't want to accidently bring back the wrong person."

"**Yes!"**

**She rushed over and rummaged through my pockets.**

**But instead of bringing out Riptide, she found the bottle of Hermes multivitamins and started struggling with the cap.**

**I wanted to scream at her that this wasn't the time for taking supplements! She had to draw the sword!**

**She popped a lemon chewable in her mouth just as the door flew open and Circe came back in, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants.**

**"Well," Circe sighed, "how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dear?"**

**"This," Annabeth said, and she drew her bronze knife.**

"Fight it out," said Athena, "it's your only chance right now."

**The sorceress stepped back, but her surprise quickly passed. She sneered. "Really, little girl, a knife against**_**my**___**magic? Is that wise?"**

**Circe looked back at her attendants, who smiled. They raised their hands as if preparing to cast a spell.**

_**Run!**___**I wanted to tell Annabeth, but all I could make were rodent noises. The other guinea pigs squealed in terror and scuttled around the cage. I had the urge to panic and hide, too, but I had to think of something! I couldn't stand to lose Annabeth the way I'd lost Tyson.**

"Of course not," said Thalia, "you'd be devastated."

"From what I've heard," whispered Annabeth to Percy, "you were devastated when I was captured."

"Of course I was," said Percy, "just like you were devastated when I disappeared."

**"What will Annabeth's makeover be?" Circe mused. "Something small and ill-tempered. I know ... a shrew!"**

**Blue fire coiled from her fingers curling like serpents around Annabeth.**

**I watched, horror-struck, but nothing happened. Annabeth was still Annabeth, only angrier.**

"Well, yeah," said AJ, "who wouldn't be?"

"I'd probably be confused," said PJ, causing AJ to blush a little

**She leaped forward and stuck the point of her knife against Circe's neck. "How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at your throat!"**

**"How!" Circe yelped.**

**Annabeth held up my bottle of vitamins for the sorceress to see.**

**Circe howled in frustration. "Curse Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do**_**nothing**___**for you."**

"LE GASP!" exclaimed Hermes, now with a French beret, and his hand over his heart, "How dare you say that Le Vitameens are not good for you? It izz ze eesential for ze health!"

"Stop being French and shut up," said Artemis, slapping him.

**"Turn Percy back to a human or else!" Annabeth said.**

**"I can't!"**

**"Then you asked for it."**

**Circe's attendants stepped forward, but their mistress said, "Get back! She's immune to magic until that cursed vitamin wears off."**

**Annabeth dragged Circe over to the guinea pig cage, knocked the top off, and poured the rest of the vitamins inside.**

"You know you could have just gave it to Percy," said Luke

"There wasn't enough time to find him," said Annabeth, "besides, I only had a hunch as to which guinea pig he was. I didn't want to take the chance, so I just threw the whole thing in."

**"No!" Circe screamed.**

**I was the first to get a vitamin, but all the other guinea pigs scuttled out, too, and checked out this new food.**

**The first nibble, and I felt all fiery inside. I gnawed at the vitamin until it stopped looking so huge, and the cage got smaller, and then suddenly,**_**bang!**___**The cage exploded. I was sitting on the floor, a human again—somehow back in my regular clothes, thank the gods—**

"Imagine what would have happened if Percy _didn't_ wake up in his own clothes," said Nico. Causing both Percys to go red, along with Annabeth and, surprisingly, AJ.

"At the time," said Percy, "it would have been embarrassing."

**with six other guys who all looked disoriented, blinking and shaking wood shavings out of their hair.**

**"No!" Circe screamed. "You don't understand! Those are the worst!"**

**One of the men stood up—a huge guy with a long tangled pitch-black beard and teeth the same color. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed more simply—in breeches and stained white shirts. All of them were barefoot.**

"Blackbeard and his gang," said Leo

**"Argggh!" bellowed the big man. "What's the witch done t'me!"**

**"No!" Circe moaned.**

**Annabeth gasped. "I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?"**

"I still can't get over the fact that Blackbeard is a son of Ares," said Leo

**"Aye, lass," the big man growled. "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Arggggh!"**

"Really?" asked Thalia, "Celery?"

"It's a side effect of being turned into a guinea pig," said Percy, burying his head into Annabeth's hair again, "that and having your Flight senses from your Fight-or-Flight thing be stronger."

**Circe screamed. She and her attendants ran from the room, chased by the pirates.**

**Annabeth sheathed her knife and glared at me.**

**"Thanks ..." I faltered. "I'm really sorry—"**

"Percy is tricked into being turned into a guinea pig," said Jason, "and you're mad at him?"

"I wasn't mad at him," said Annabeth, "I was just mad at Circe. He just happened to be at the receiving end of my glare."

**Before I could figure out how to apologize for being such an idiot,** **she tackled me with a hug, then pulled away just as quickly.**

**"I'm glad you're not a guinea pig."**

"Of course you are," said Nico, "everyone knows that only guinea pigs can go out with guinea pigs."

**"Me, too." I hoped my face wasn't as red as it felt.**

"It was," said Annabeth

**She undid the golden braids in her hair.**

**"Come on, Seaweed Brain," she said. "We have to get away while Circe's distracted."**

**We ran down the hillside through the terraces, past screaming spa workers and pirates ransacking the resort. Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels.**

**I almost felt bad letting the unruly pirates out, but I guessed they deserved something more entertaining than the exercise wheel after being cooped up in a cage for three centuries.**

"Of course you would think that," snorted Thalia

**"Which ship?" Annabeth said as we reached the docks.**

**I looked around desperately. We couldn't very well take our rowboat. We had to get off the island fast, but what else could we use? A sub? A fighter jet? I couldn't pilot any of those things. And then I saw it.**

"A purple monkey?" asked Leo

"A orange dinosaur?" asked Apollo

"Psh, he wouldn't see those on Circe's island," said Hermes, "he obviously saw a green walrus with rainbow polkadots doing the Robot on the volcano."

"You're all wrong," said Percy

"It was a ship," said Annabeth

**"There," I said.**

**Annabeth blinked. "But—"**

**"I can make it work."**

**"How?"**

**I couldn't explain. I just somehow knew an old sailing vessel was the best bet for me.**

"That's because they are," said Athena, "you'd be on home turf."

"Plus," said Poseidon, "you'd be able to control each and every part of it."

**I grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her toward the three-mast ship. Painted on its prow was the name that I would only decipher later:**_**Queen Anne's Revenge.**_

**"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled somewhere behind us. "Those scalawags are a-boarding me vessel! Get 'em, lads!"**

"You stole Blackbeard's ship?" asked Leo

"Well, it wasn't stealing," started Annabeth

"Annabeth, it was stealing," interrupted Percy

**"We'll never get going in time!" Annabeth yelled as we climbed aboard.**

**I looked around at the hopeless maze of sail and ropes. The ship was in great condition for a three-hundred-year-old vessel, but it would still take a crew of fifty several hours to get underway. We didn't have several hours. I could see the pirates running down the stairs, waving tiki torches and sticks of celery.**

"Because sticks of celery are _so_ dangerous," said Thalia, right before getting nailed in the eye with a stick of celery, "OW! WHWO THREW THAT?"

"What happened to sticks of celery not being dangerous?" asked Percy throwing another stick of celery at Thalia, along with Annabeth

"All right," said Thalia, trying to protect her other eye, "I give, they can be dangerous if they want to be."

"That's right Pinecone Face," said Percy, taking a bite out of a stick of celery, "fear the stick."

"I try to get him to eat his greens," said Sally, "and he has to be turned into a guinea pig to want to eat _one_ green vegetable."

Everyone laughed as Percy and PJ blushed

**I closed my eyes and concentrated on the waves lapping against the hull, the ocean currents, the winds all around me. Suddenly, the right word appeared in my mind.**

**"Mizzenmast!" I yelled.**

**Annabeth looked at me like I was nuts,**

"I did think you were nuts," said Annabeth

**but in the next second, the air was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling, and wooden pulleys creaking.**.

**Annabeth ducked as a cable flew over her head and wrapped itself around the bowsprit. "Percy, how ..."**

**I didn't have an answer, but I could feel the ship responding to me as if it were part of my body.**

"That is so cool," said Leo

"Can I do that with airplanes?" asked Jason

"I don't know," said Zeus, "you could try."

**I willed the sails to rise as easily as if I were flexing my arm. I willed the rudder to turn.**

**The**_**Queen Anne's Revenge**___**lurched away from the dock, and by the time the pirates arrived at the water's edge, we were already underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.**

"I love how Percy gets all the better powers than the other Big Three kids," said Piper

"It's just that awesome being a child of Poseidon," said Percy


	17. Chapter 17

**Annabeth Tries to Swim Home**

"Annabeth, I'm disappointed," said Apollo, "you can't swim to Camp Half-Blood from Florida. It's too long."

"Apollo, do we need to send you to the mental institution again?" asked Artemis

**I'd finally found something I was really good at.**

**The**_**Queen Anne's Revenge**___**responded to my every command. I knew which ropes to hoist, which sails to raise, which direction to steer. We plowed through the waves at what I figured was about ten knots. I even understood how fast that was. For a sailing ship, pretty darn fast.**

"You _would_ know Waterboy," said Thalia

**It all felt perfect—the wind in my face, the waves breaking over the prow.**

**But now that we were out of danger, all I could think about was how much I missed Tyson, and how worried I was about Grover.**

Everyone fell silent at this. Most were silent because of Tyson, but Luke was silent because of Grover.

**I couldn't get over how badly I'd messed up on Circe's Island.**

"You didn't mess up at all," said Annabeth

"It wasn't your fault," said Thalia, "you didn't know."

"It's not your fault that Circe enchanted you," said Nico

"Yeah, but—," started Percy, but Annabeth cut him off, "If you say otherwise, we're playing chess."

"Please not chess," whined Percy

"Anything but chess," pleaded PJ

Sally frowned at this, knowing why they don't want to play chess and not knowing what's causing it.

"What's wrong with chess?" asked AJ

"For some reason," said Annabeth, "whenever Percy plays chess, he always gets zapped by lightning, but Zeus doesn't do it. No one has figured it out yet. Not even my mom."

"That is really weird," said Leo

"Says the king of the weird," said Piper

**If it hadn't been for Annabeth, I'd still be a rodent, hiding in a hutch with a bunch of cute furry pirates.**

**I thought about what Circe had said:**_**See, Percy? You've unlocked your true self!**_

**I still felt changed. Not just because I had a sudden desire to eat lettuce.**

"If I gave you a piece of lettuce, would you eat it?" asked Leo

"No," said Percy, "never eating lettuce. Never again!"

**I felt jumpy, like the instinct to be a scared little animal was now a part of me. Or maybe it had always been there. That's what really worried me.**

"No one say anything," snarled Percy, his eyes turning dark green, which gave everyone a warning to not laugh, even if they really wanted to.

**We sailed through the night.**

**Annabeth tried to help me keep lookout, but sailing didn't agree with her. After a few hours rocking back and forth, her face turned the color of guacamole** **and she went below to lie in a hammock.**

"Yeah," said Annabeth, "children of Athena never did well out at sea."

"Neither do children of Zeus," said Thalia

"Or Hades," nodded Nico

Everyone turned to Poseidon, who raised his hands defensively, "Don't look at me. I always try to help them when they travel by sea, unless they did something that angered me. I'd never induce seasickness on purpose to demigods."

"So you did make me seasick on that trip we had to Cuba," said Athena, glaring

"Actually, that was all you," said Poseidon, "though I did add to Zeus's seasickness when we went to Puerto Rico."

"And to think that children of Poseidon and Hades are blasted in Zeus's domain," said Demeter, glaring at both Zeus and Hades, but more at Hades, "and children of Poseidon and Zeus are tortured and killed by skeletons in the Underworld."

"You know," said Leo, "I just realized that Lord Poseidon is one of the more awesome gods we have. I mean, he helps his enemies' kids with their seasickness, usually; he doesn't kill any of his enemies' kids who come on his domain; he's always trying to help everyone, and mankind; and yet he doesn't seem to forget his godly duties. If that isn't a qualification for an awesome god, I don't know what is."

"He's got a point you know," said Hermes, "I mean, half the gods and goddesses here are temperamental and prone to blasting their enemies' kids."

"Really, like who?" asked Demeter

"Well, for one thing, there's Zeus and his fetish for blasting people," said Hermes, as he started to count off on his fingers. Zeus, however, had to restrain himself from blasting Hermes so that he doesn't prove the God of Travelers' point. "then there's Ares, who just kills anyone who displeases him. Artemis turns every male that looks at her into jackalopes, Hades sends monsters after the demigods he doesn't like, Hera sends _cows_ after people she doesn't like, and Athena blasts like every other child of Poseidon who tries to talk to her kids."

"Yet they wonder why people don't like them any more than they do," said Percy

"Especially a certain Queen of the Gods," snarled Annabeth

"Enough," boomed Hera, "we need to finish these books."

**I watched the horizon. More than once I spotted monsters. A plume of water as tall as a skyscraper spewed into the moonlight. A row of green spines slithered across the waves—something maybe a hundred feet long, reptilian. I didn't really want to know.**

**Once I saw Nereids, the glowing lady spirits of the sea. I tried to wave at them, but they disappeared into the depths, leaving me unsure whether they'd seen me or not.**

"They probably had to report back to me," said Poseidon, "otherwise, they would have waved back."

**Sometime after midnight, Annabeth came up on deck. We were just passing a smoking volcano island. The sea bubbled and steamed around the shore.**

**"One of the forges of Hephaestus," Annabeth said. "Where he makes his metal monsters."**

**"Like the bronze bulls?"**

**She nodded. "Go around. Far around."**

"Why would you do that?" asked Leo

"We're not all fire resistant like you," said PJ

"Even I have my limit as to how much fire I can handle before I start burning up," said Percy

**I didn't need to be told twice. We steered clear of the island, and soon it was just a red patch of haze behind us.**

**I looked at Annabeth. "The reason you hate Cyclopes so much ... the story about how Thalia really died.** **What happened?"**

**It was hard to see her expression in the dark.**

"I can tell you it wasn't happy," said Annabeth

"I guessed that Wise Girl," said Percy, "it wasn't hard to figure _that_ out, since you got depressed whenever we talked about Thalia or your time on the road before Thalia came back."

**"I guess you deserve to know," she said finally. "The night Grover was escorting us to camp, he got confused, took some wrong turns. You remember he told you that once?"**

**I nodded.**

**"Well, the worst wrong turn was into a Cyclops's lair in Brooklyn."**

**"They've got Cyclopes in Brooklyn?" I asked.**

**"You wouldn't believe how many, but that's not the point. This Cyclops, he tricked us. He managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush. And he could sound like anyone, Percy. Just the way Tyson did aboard the**_**Princess Andromeda.**___**He lured us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me scream for help. And me ... I was alone in the dark. I was seven years old. I couldn't even find the exit."**

"That's got to suck," said Leo

"Yeah," said Piper, "I know how you feel."

**She brushed the hair out of her face. "I remember finding the main room. There were bones all over the floor. And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover, tied up and gagged, hanging from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor. I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew my dad's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. You can stay forever.'"**

**I shivered. The way she told it—even now, six years later—freaked me out worse than any ghost story I'd ever heard. "What did you do?"**

**"I stabbed him in the foot."**

"That is so Annabeth," said Nico, laughing

**I stared at her. "Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops in the foot?"**

**"Oh, he would've killed me. But I surprised him. It gave me just enough time to run to Thalia and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."**

"You bet I did," said Thalia

**"Yeah, but still ... that was pretty brave, Annabeth."**

**She shook her head. "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares, Percy. The way that Cyclops talked in my father's voice. It was his fault we took so long getting to camp. All the monsters who'd been chasing us had time to catch up. That's really why Thalia died. If it hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."**

"I guess why you would have a disliking for Cyclopes," said Jason, "but that doesn't seem like a reason to hate all of them."

"I don't anymore," said Annabeth

**We sat on the deck, watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky.**

**"Go below," Annabeth told me at last. "You need some rest."**

**I nodded. My eyes were heavy. But when I got below and found a hammock, it took me a long time to fall asleep. I kept thinking about Annabeth's story. I wondered, if I were her, would I have had enough courage to go on this quest, to sail straight toward the lair of another Cyclops?**

**I didn't dream about Grover.**

**Instead I found myself back in Luke's stateroom aboard the**_**Princess Andromeda.**___**The curtains were open. It was nighttime outside. The air swirled with shadows. Voices whispered all around me—spirits of the dead.**

"Go dead!" cheered Nico

_**Beware,**___**they whispered.**_**Traps. Trickery.**_

**Kronos's golden sarcophagus glowed faintly—the only source of light in the room.**

**A cold laugh startled me. It seemed to come from miles below the ship.**_**You don't have the courage, young one. You can't stop me.**_

"Ha!" snorted Thalia, "Percy's got more courage than you do in your pinky bone."

**I knew what I had to do. I had to open that coffin.**

**I uncapped Riptide. Ghosts whirled around me like a tornado.**_**Beware!**_

**My heart pounded. I couldn't make my feet move, but I had to stop Kronos. I had to destroy whatever was in that box.**

**Then a girl spoke right next to me: "Well, Seaweed Brain?"**

**I looked over, expecting to see Annabeth, but the girl wasn't Annabeth. She wore punk-style clothes with silver chains on her wrists. She had spiky black hair, dark eye liner around her stormy blue eyes, and a spray of freckles across her nose. She looked familiar, but I wasn't sure why.**

"This is like the secod time you dreamt of her," said Annabeth

"Is there something I should know about?" asked Thalia

"What?" asked Percy, "Other than the fact that you were there and I have no clue why, no you don't."

**"Well?" she asked. "Are we going to stop him or not?"**

**I couldn't answer. I couldn't move.**

**The girl rolled her eyes. "Fine. Leave it to me and Aegis."**

**She tapped her wrist and her silver chains transformed— flattening and expanding into a huge shield. It was silver and bronze, with the monstrous face of Medusa protruding from the center. It looked like a death mask, as if the gorgon's real head had been pressed into the metal. I didn't know if that was true, or if the shield could really petrify me, but I looked away. Just being near it made me cold with fear. I got a feeling that in a real fight, the bearer of that shield would be almost impossible to beat. Any sane enemy would turn and run.**

"No it can't really petrify you," said Thalia, "but the results are close enough."

**The girl drew her sword and advanced on the sarcophagus. The shadowy ghosts parted for her, scattering before the terrible aura of her shield.**

**"No," I tried to warn her.**

**But she didn't listen. She marched straight up to the sarcophagus and pushed aside the golden lid.**

"Oh, wait a minute," said Thalia, eyes wide with realization, "I had something of a vision similar to this when I was a tree, except the boy had emerald green eyes, not sea-green."

**For a moment she stood there, gazing down at whatever was in the box.**

**The coffin began to glow.**

**"No." The girl's voice trembled. "It can't be."**

**From the depths of the ocean, Kronos laughed so loudly the whole ship trembled.**

**"No!" The girl screamed as the sarcophagus engulfed her in a blast of a golden light.**

"Nice dream you got there," grumbled Thalia

"Best dream if you ask me," said Nico, who then got slapped by Thalia

**"Ah!" I sat bolt upright in my hammock.**

**Annabeth was shaking me. "Percy, you were having a nightmare. You need to get up."**

**"Wh—what is it?" I rubbed my eyes. "What's wrong?"**

**"Land," she said grimly. "We're approaching the island of the Sirens."**

**I could barely make out the island ahead of us—just a dark spot in the mist.**

**"I want you to do me a favor," Annabeth said. "The Sirens ... we'll be in range of their singing soon."**

"Tsk Tsk Tsk," said Apollo, "the island of the Sirens isn't home."

"I can honestly say that I'm home right now," said Annabeth, and Percy agreed.

"You don't live on Olympus," said Thalia

"Who said anything about Olympus?" asked Annabeth, causing everyone to wonder what she was talking about. Piper was the first to figure it out.

"Are you talking about that saying 'home is where the heart is'?" asked Piper, and both Annabeth and Percy nodded, to everyone's surprise.

**I remembered stories about the Sirens. They sang so sweetly their voices enchanted sailors and lured them to their death.**

**"No problem," I assured her. "We can just stop up our ears. There's a big tub of candle wax below deck—"**

**"I want to hear them."**

"You do know that the Sirens will make you go towards your death, right?" asked Athena

"Yeah," said Annabeth, blushing, "I just wanted to be wiser."

**I blinked. "Why?"**

**"They say the Sirens sing the truth about what you desire. They tell you things about yourself you didn't even realize. That's what's so enchanting. If you survive ... you become wiser. I want to hear them. How often will I get that chance?"**

**Coming from most people, this would've made no sense. But Annabeth being who she was—well, if she could struggle through Ancient Greek architecture books and enjoy documentaries on the History Channel, I guessed the Sirens would appeal to her, too.**

**She told me her plan. Reluctantly, I helped her get ready.**

**As soon as the rocky coastline of the island came into view, I ordered one of the ropes to wrap around Annabeth's waist, tying her to the foremast.**

**"Don't untie me," she said, "no matter what happens or how much I plead. I'll want to go straight over the edge and drown myself."**

"I doubt Percy would let you do that," said Thalia

**"Are you trying to tempt me?"**

**"Ha-ha."**

**I promised I'd keep her secure. Then I took two large wads of candle wax, kneaded them into earplugs, and stuffed my ears.**

**Annabeth nodded sarcastically, letting me know the earplugs were a real fashion statement. I made a face at her and turned to the pilot's wheel.**

"You looked kind of cute doing that," said Annabeth

**The silence was eerie. I couldn't hear anything but the rush of blood in my head. As we approached the island, jagged rocks loomed out of the fog. I willed the**_**Queen Anne's Revenge**___**to skirt around them. If we sailed any closer, those rocks would shred our hull like blender blades.**

**I glanced back. At first, Annabeth seemed totally normal. Then she got a puzzled look on her face. Her eyes widened.**

"That was when I first heard the Sirens," said Annabeth

**She strained against the ropes. She called my name—I could tell just from reading her lips. Her expression was clear: She had to get out. This was life or death. I had to let her out of the ropes**_**right now.**_

**She seemed so miserable it was hard not to cut her free.**

**I forced myself to look away. I urged the**_**Queen Anne's Revenge**___**to go faster.**

**I still couldn't see much of the island—just mist and rocks—but floating in the water were pieces of wood and fiberglass, the wreckage of old ships, even some flotation cushions from airplanes.**

**How could music cause so many lives to veer off course?**

"They're songs are very captivating," said Poseidon, shaking his head, "such a shame that so many fine vessels crashed into their rocks."

**I mean, sure, there were some Top Forty songs that made me want to take a fiery nosedive, but still ... What could the Sirens possibly sing about?**

**For one dangerous moment, I understood Annabeth's curiosity. I was tempted to take out the earplugs, just to get a taste of the song. I could feel the Sirens' voices vibrating in the timbers of the ship, pulsing along with the roar of blood in my ears.**

**Annabeth was pleading with me. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She strained against the ropes, as if they were holding her back from everything she cared about.**

_**How could you be so cruel?**___**She seemed to be asking me**_**. I thought you were my friend.**_

"I was," said Annabeth

**I glared at the misty island. I wanted to uncap my sword, but there was nothing to fight.**

**How do you fight a song?**

"You don't," said Apollo, while Athena said, "With another song."

**I tried hard not to look at Annabeth. I managed it for about five minutes.** **That was my big mistake.**

"Oh my gods," said Thalia, getting wide-eyed, "You forgot to disarm."

"I know," said Percy

**When I couldn't stand it any longer, I looked back and found ... a heap of cut ropes.**

**An empty mast. Annabeth's bronze knife lay on the deck.**

**Somehow, she'd managed to wriggle it into her hand. I'd totally forgotten to disarm her.**

**I rushed to the side of the boat and saw her, paddling madly for the island, the waves carrying her straight toward the jagged rocks.**

**I screamed her name, but if she heard me, it didn't do any good. She was entranced, swimming toward her death.**

"Sounds like a fun way to die," said Leo

**I looked back at the pilot's wheel and yelled, "Stay!"**

**Then I jumped over the side.**

**I sliced into the water and willed the currents to bend around me, making a jet stream that shot me forward.**

**I came to the surface and spotted Annabeth, but a wave caught her, sweeping her between two razor-sharp fangs of rock.**

**I had no choice. I plunged after her.**

**I dove under the wrecked hull of a yacht, wove through a collection of floating metal balls on chains that I realized afterward were mines.**

"OH great," groaned Poseidon, "just what he needs."

**I had to use all my power over water to avoid getting smashed against the rocks or tangled in the nets of barbed wire strung just below the surface.**

**I jetted between the two rock fangs and found myself in a half-moon-shaped bay. The water was choked with more rocks and ship wreckage and floating mines. The beach was black volcanic sand.**

**I looked around desperately for Annabeth.**

**There she was.**

**Luckily or unluckily, she was a strong swimmer.**

"I've gotten better thanks to my boyfriend," smiled Annabeth

**She'd made it past the mines and the rocks. She was almost to the black beach.**

**Then the mist cleared and I saw them—the Sirens.**

**Imagine a flock of vultures the size of people—with dirty black plumage, gray talons, and wrinkled pink necks. Now imagine human heads on top of those necks, but the human heads keep changing.**

Everyone had at least some thoughts of disgust when it came to the Sirens now.

**I couldn't hear them, but I could see they were singing. As their mouths moved, their faces morphed into people I knew—my mom, Poseidon, Grover, Tyson, Chiron. All the people I most wanted to see.**

"And where was I?" asked Annabeth

"You were there," said Percy, "just not as much as the others. Besides, I didn't see myself in your vision of the Sirens."

"I'll tell you later," said Annabeth

**They smiled reassuringly, inviting me forward. But no matter what shape they took, their mouths were greasy and caked with the remnants of old meals. Like vultures, they'd been eating with their faces, and it didn't look like they'd been feasting on** **Monster Donuts.**

**Annabeth swam toward them.**

**I knew I couldn't let her get out of the water. The sea was my only advantage. It had always protected me one way or another. I propelled myself forward and grabbed her ankle.**

"If you held onto someone who was listening the Sirens and you weren't," said Piper, "would you be able to see what they see?"

"Yeah, you would," said Percy

**The moment I touched her, a shock went through my body, and I saw the Sirens the way Annabeth must've been seeing them.**

**Three people sat on a picnic blanket in Central Park. A feast was spread out before them. I recognized Annabeth's dad from photos she'd shown me—an athletic-looking, sandy-haired guy in his forties. He was holding hands with a beautiful woman who looked a lot like Annabeth. She was dressed casually—in blue jeans and a denim shirt and hiking boots—but something about the woman radiated power. I knew that I was looking at the goddess Athena.**

"One of them was me and Frederick getting back together?" asked Athena

"See," said Hera, pointedly, "this just proves that demigods are selfish."

"Yeah," said Percy, "because each and every one of us sees our godly parent on a daily basis with that law preventing them from being with us in place."

Hera huffed indignantly, but didn't say anything, knowing she lost the argument.

**Next to them sat a young man ... Luke.**

**The whole scene glowed in a warm, buttery light. The three of them were talking and laughing, and when they saw Annabeth, their faces lit up with delight. Annabeth's mom and dad held out their arms invitingly. Luke grinned and gestured for Annabeth to sit next to him—as if he'd never betrayed her, as if he were still her friend.**

**Behind the trees of Central Park, a city skyline rose. I caught my breath, because it was Manhattan, but**_**not**___**Manhattan. It had been totally rebuilt from dazzling white marble, bigger and grander than ever—with golden windows and rooftop gardens. It was better than New York. Better than Mount Olympus.**

"That was a given," said Thalia, "we all could have guessed architecture would be there."

**I knew immediately that Annabeth had designed it all. She was the architect for a whole new world. She had reunited her parents. She had saved Luke. She had done everything she'd ever wanted.**

"Wait, then where's Percy?" asked Jason, ruining Luke's happiness, thinking that Annabeth would have chose him after all in the future.

"He was there," said Annabeth, looking down and closing her eyes, "Percy just didn't see himself. The Percy the Sirens showed me _was_ my boyfriend, but he wasn't there because I had told him to go and get some drinks for us."

"You know," said Leo, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're lying about Percy being your boyfriend and all, and that the Sirens were showing Luke as your boyfriend."

"Oh please," said Annabeth, laughing as she threw her head back, "I saw him as a friend there. It was then that I realized that the age difference was too great for us to be together. It was also then that I was first introduced to having feelings for Percy."

She whispered the last part, but Percy heard her and gave her a squeeze of assurance.

**I blinked hard. When I opened my eyes, all I saw were the Sirens—ragged vultures with human faces, ready to feed on another victim.**

**I pulled Annabeth back into the surf. I couldn't hear her, but I could tell she was screaming. She kicked me in the face, but I held on.**

"That's got to hurt," said Leo, rubbing a spot on his face, which everyone presumed was where Annabeth had kicked him

"You have no idea," said Percy, rubbing the place where she kicked him that day. Annabeth simply turned around and gave him a kiss on that spot, and Percy smiled as he gave a kiss on his head.

"I want a kiss on my face too," whined Leo

"How hard should I kick?" asked Annabeth

"I said 'kiss,' not 'kick'!" said Leo, as he hid behind Jason

"Dude," said Jason, "I'm not getting in the way of Annabeth. You're on your own on this one."

"But I don't want a kick," whined Leo

"Relax, Leo," said Annabeth, "I was just kidding."

**I willed the currents to carry us out into the bay. Annabeth pummeled and kicked me, making it hard to concentrate. She thrashed so much we almost collided with a floating mine. I didn't know what to do. I'd never get back to the ship alive if she kept fighting.**

**We went under and Annabeth stopped struggling. Her expression became confused.**

"Yeah, that'll happen when one moment you're in a world all your own," said Annabeth, "and your pulled back into reality."

**Then our heads broke the surface and she started to fight again.**

**The water! Sound didn't travel well underwater. If I could submerge her long enough, I could break the spell of the music. Of course, Annabeth wouldn't be able to breathe, but at the moment, that seemed like a minor problem.**

"Minor?" asked Annabeth

"It was either not breathing or swimming to your death," said Percy

**I grabbed her around the waist and ordered the waves to push us down.**

**We shot into the depths—ten feet, twenty feet. I knew I had to be careful because I could withstand a lot more pressure than Annabeth. She fought and struggled for breath as bubbles rose around us.**

_**Bubbles.**_

**I was desperate. I had to keep Annabeth alive. I imagined all the bubbles in the sea—always churning, rising. I imagined them coming together, being pulled toward me.**

**The sea obeyed. There was a flurry of white, a tickling sensation all around me, and when my vision cleared, Annabeth and I had a huge bubble of air around us. Only our legs stuck into the water.**

"That is awesome!" exclaimed Leo

"So that's how you guys stayed underwater so long when we threw you in the lake," said Thalia

"What did you expect?" asked Percy, "We'd come up immediately somewhere else and scare the whole lot of you?"

"Yes," said Thalia bluntly

"Too bad," said Annabeth

**She gasped and coughed. Her whole body shuddered, but when she looked at me, I knew the spell had been broken.** **She started to sob—I mean horrible, heartbroken sobbing. She put her head on my shoulder and I held her.**

"Right before you kissed her," said Aphrodite

"Wrong bubble," said Percy, though he was smiling

**Fish gathered to look at us—a school of barracudas, some curious marlins.**

_**Scram!**___**I told them.**

**They swam off, but I could tell they went reluctantly. I swear I understood their intentions. They were about to start rumors flying around the sea about the son of Poseidon and some girl at the bottom of Siren Bay.**

Everyone laughed

"The marlins are the gossip fish of the sea," said Poseidon, "and the barracudas aren't much help either."

**"I'll get us back to the ship," I told her. "It's okay. Just hang on."**

**Annabeth nodded to let me know she was better now, then she murmured something I couldn't hear because of the wax in my ears.**

"What did you say?" asked Leo

"I told him," said Annabeth, "that he was my boyfriend in there, but I wasn't sure whether that was what I wanted or not."

**I made the current steer our weird little air submarine through the rocks and barbed wire and back toward the hull of the**_**Queen Anne's Revenge,**___**which was maintaining a slow and steady course away from the island.**

**We stayed underwater, following the ship, until I judged we had moved out of earshot of the Sirens. Then I surfaced and our air bubble popped.**

**I ordered a rope ladder to drop over the side of the ship, and we climbed aboard. I kept my earplugs in, just to be sure.**

"Good idea," said Athena

**We sailed until the island was completely out of sight. Annabeth sat huddled in a blanket on the forward deck. Finally she looked up, dazed and sad, and mouthed,**_**safe.**_

**I took out the earplugs. No singing. The afternoon was quiet except for the sound of the waves against the hull. The fog had burned away to a blue sky, as if the island of the Sirens had never existed.**

"That's got to be spooky," said PJ

"You have no idea," said Percy

**"You okay?" I asked. The moment I said it, I realized how lame that sounded. Of course she wasn't okay.**

**"I didn't realize," she murmured.**

**"What?"**

**Her eyes were the same color as the mist over the Sirens' island. "How powerful the temptation would be."**

**I didn't want to admit that I'd seen what the Sirens had promised her. I felt like a trespasser. But I figured I owed it to Annabeth.**

"Thanks for that, anyway," said Annabeth

"No problem," said Percy

**"I saw the way you rebuilt Manhattan," I told her. "And Luke and your parents."**

**She blushed. "You saw that?"**

"Why were you blushing?" asked Luke

"I was kind of scared that he had seen all of it," said Annabeth, "including the part where I had asked Percy to get us some drinks."

**"What Luke told you back on the**_**Princess Andromeda,**___**about starting the world from scratch ... that really got to you, huh?"**

**She pulled her blanket around her. "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."**

"That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?" asked PJ

"That's hummus Percy," said AJ, "future me is talking about hubris, or deadly pride."

"Oh, okay," said PJ

**I blinked. "That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?"**

**She rolled her eyes. "No, Seaweed Brain. That's**_**hummus.**___**Hubris is worse."**

**"What could be worse than hummus?"**

**"Hubris means deadly pride, Percy. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else ... even the gods."**

**"You feel that way?"**

**She looked down. "Don't you ever feel like, what if the world really**_**is**___**messed up? What if we**_**could**___**do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."**

"The last parts definitely is going to get WaterBoy's attention," said Thalia

"Do you do your homework in the future?" asked Sally

"Don't worry mom," said Percy, smiling, "I do."

"Good," said Sally

**"I'm listening."**

**"I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did—that's why the fire is still burning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And you start thinking the way Luke does: 'If I could tear this all down, I would do it better.' Don't you ever feel that way? Like**_**you**___**could do a better job if you ran the world?"**

**"Um ... no. Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."**

"That is so true," said Nico, laughing with everyone else as Percy smiled and PJ blushed in embarrassment.

AJ, seeing this, bumped shoulders with him and smiled. He saw her and smiled back, feeling better than before. They looked at each other's eyes for a minute before turning away blushing. However, this time, AJ, instead of not doing anything, turned to face him again, and put her hand on his. PJ, feeling this, faced AJ once again, and they both shared a meaningful smile before turning back to everyone else.

Luke, who was laughing up till this point, looked on with jealousy and hatred towards the son of Poseidon, causing his mood once again to be ruined.

"He can barely keep his room in order," said Sally, "what chance does he have at keeping the world in order?"

This caused everyone else to laugh even harder, and this time PJ was laughing as well, while Luke was simply looking on at the two Percys and Annabeths with jealousy at how quickly they were able to be best friends and he could only guess as to how much they've told each other about their lives.

**"Then you're lucky. Hubris isn't your fatal flaw."**

**"What is?"**

"Personal loyalty," started Annabeth

"He'd do anything," continued Thalia

"To help a loved one or a friend," finished Nico

All who knew Percy was smiling at him, and he smiled back.

**"I don't know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it ... well, they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing."**

**I thought about that. It didn't exactly cheer me up.**

**I also noticed Annabeth hadn't said much about the**_**personal**___**things she would change—like getting her parents back together, or saving Luke. I understood. I didn't want to admit how many times I'd dreamed of getting my own parents back together.**

"I understand Percy how it might feel," said Poseidon, "but we may not be able to be together as a whole family as many times as others can."

"I know," said Percy, "that's why I cherish every moment I spend with my friends and family."

Every female in the room cooed at that, while those who had a heart, or something of a heart, smiled at Percy. Those who didn't were Luke, Ares, and Dionysus, though Dionysus wasn't paying attention, so he doesn't really count. Even Hades, as small as it was, smiled at Percy, though he would deny doing it later on.

**I pictured my mom, alone in our little apartment on the Upper East Side. I tried to remember the smell of her blue waffles in the kitchen. It seemed so far away.**

**"So was it worth it?" I asked Annabeth. "Do you feel ... wiser?"**

**She gazed into the distance. "I'm not sure. But we**_**have**___**to save the camp. If we don't stop Luke ..."**

**She didn't need to finish. If Luke's way of thinking could even tempt Annabeth, there was no telling how many other half-bloods might join him.**

"Dozens," said Jason

"Hundreds," said Thalia

"Thousands," said Luke proudly

"Don't get carried away, Luke," said Percy, "hundreds is a stretch as it is."

**I thought about my dream of the girl and the golden sarcophagus. I wasn't sure what it meant, but I got the feeling I was missing something. Something terrible that Kronos was planning. What had the girl seen when she opened that coffin lid?**

**Suddenly Annabeth's eyes widened. "Percy."**

**I turned.**

**Up ahead was another blotch of land—a saddle-shaped island with forested hills and white beaches and green meadows—just like I'd seen in my dreams.**

"Polyphemus's island," whispered PJ

**My nautical senses confirmed it. 30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west.**

"You're reached the island," declared Leo

**We had reached the home of the Cyclops.**

"I think this is a good time for a break, don't you think?" asked Zeus

Everyone agreed, since the next chapter or so would be about rescuing Grover, and no one wanted to have a break in the middle of that.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Okay, so I got the next chapter done, just so you guys can enjoy a few chapters before I have to slow down so I can study for finals (which end on Thursday). For some reason, these Reading in the Past stories are coming out better than I thought they would, so let's just hope it stays that way. Now on to the story!**

Everyone was about to exit the throne room, when a bright light filled it once again. When the light dimmed, Sally Jackson looked older than before the light, and standing next to her was a man only those who knew Percy beforehand knew. There was also a man who looked like an older version of Luke.

"Who did they send now?" asked Zeus, "And why is Sally older?"

"This is Paul Blofis, Lord Zeus," said Sally, gesturing to the guy next to her, "English teacher, Percy's stepfather and my current husband."

"Current husband?" asked AJ, "I thought that you said she only married once Percy."

"Hey, she did," said PJ, "this is obviously an older version of my mom."

"Wait, Percy's here?" asked Sally

"Actually, mom," said Percy, "me and my ten year old self is here."

"Percy!" exclaimed Sally, as she rushed forward and hugged her son, "I got your voicemail. I'm so glad your okay. You better keep your promise and come home like you said you would."

"Don't worry mom," said Percy, laughing, "I always come home, don't I?"

"I guess so," said Sally, "So what are we doing here?"

"Well, you see," said Percy

"We're reading books about Percy," said Annabeth, "and it's in his point of view."

"Oh, good," said Sally, before turning to Paul, "now you can learn more about your stepson Paul."

"I'll be glad to," said Paul

"Well, now that this reunion is over," said Zeus, "there's still the matter of the unknown young man."

"My name is Luke Castellan," said the older looking Luke, bowing, "I'm from the future, where I have died, but Lord Hades has permitted me to come back for an unknown period of time to read these books." **(A/N As with all other past readers, past Luke will be known as LJ)**

"All right, at least you didn't succeed," grumbled Zeus, "now, let the break COMMENCE!"

He flashed away in a fury of thunder and lightning.

"I think that's the most dramatic one he's done, yet," said Poseidon, as the gods and goddesses flashed out.

Luke walked over to Lord Poseidon, and bowed to him, "Lord Poseidon, I hope yo forgive me for any and every thing I've done to your son. I truly regret what I've done."

"As long as you've learned your lesson," said Poseidon, "all is well. Now, I believe you have some friends to talk to, while I have a past lover to talk to."

"As you wish, Lord Poseidon," said Luke, as he turned around and walked towards the group of demigods. Sally flashed him a smile as she walked with Paul and Poseidon out the door.

"Hey guys," said Luke, standing at a good enough distance so that he could run away if needed.

"Luke, what are you doing over there?" asked Percy, smiling, "We need to reintroduce you to everyone."

"Re-introduce me?" asked Luke, smiling as he made his way over.

"Wait, hold on a minute," said Leo, "I thought you hated this guy!"

"Yeah, me too," said Piper

"What happened to hating me?"asked LJ

"I do hate you," said Percy, "but not this Luke. We've settled our differences, and we're really good friends."

"Yup," said Luke, "and it wouldn't have been possible without Zombie Dude."

"It was nothing," said Nico, "though thanks for the tip on stealing. It helped a lot when I was tired from shadow-travelling."

"I am officially confused here," said Leo

"You're always confused," said Piper

"Sorry about this," said Luke, "but who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Piper McLean," said Piper, stepping forward, "daughter of Aphrodite and charm-speaker."

"Nice to meet you," responded Luke, "you might just be the next Silena Beauregard, and don't worry, that's a good thing, no matter what other people say."

"Thanks," said Piper, as she stepped back and Leo stepped forward.

"Leo Valdez," said Leo, "son of Hephaestus and fire-user."

"Oh, a fire user eh?" said Luke, "Haven't had those in a long time. Just make sure to burn only the unneeded stuff, like monsters, you know?"

"Got it," nodded Leo, as he stepped back.

"I'm Jason Grace," said Jason, stepping forward, "son of Jupiter, consul to demigods, praetor of the Twelfth Legion, slayer of the Trojan sea monster, toppler of the throne of the Titan Time, and destroyer of the Titan Krios."

"Another Grace?" asked Luke, "Are you Thalia's brother, by any chance?"

"An annoying one at that," said Thalia, smirking

"Speak for yourself," said Jason, glaring at his sister

"So," said Luke, trying to avoid a possible fight, "what's this about a son of Jupiter?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" asked Annabeth, "There's another camp in San Fran for Roman demigods. That's where Jason's from. Remember when Thalia said that Jason was killed in the woods? Well, he was actually given to Juno by Jupiter to placate her, and when he was two, he was taken by Lupa and her wolves, which help train Roman demigods so that they'll be ready to handle the camp when they get there, and has been there ever since."

"How come we didn't hear about this?" asked Luke

"Apparently," said Thalia, "the last time the two camps met, the American Civil War happened."

"Ouch," said Luke, "so, let me get this straight. While Camp Half-Blood fought against the Time Titan and his army in Manhattan, this Roman Camp fought Krios and toppled the Time Titan's throne at Mt. Othrys?"

"Yup," said Percy

"Um, excuse me," interrupted PJ, "is it okay if Annabeth and I go and start studying now?"

Everyone laughed.

"Dude," said Percy, "you didn't need to even ask. You know what, why don't we all go there? It'll be better than staying here the whole time."

"Good idea," said Luke, as everyone got up (they had sat down since their legs were getting tired standing) and made their way to the Poseidon beds.

"Hey, older me," said LJ, catching up with himself, "how are you able to stand seeing Percy and Annabeth together?"

"Wait, what?" asked Luke, completely bewildered, "Dude, you love Annabeth? She's like 7 years younger than you. The age difference is too great. Even here, the only available Annabeth is 9 years younger than you, and the older one would probably kick your butt for asking her out."

"So you're saying that I should let her go?" asked LJ

"I'm saying that you shouldn't even be thinking about going out with her in the first place," said Luke, when his face morphed into confusion, "hey, what's this behind your ear?"

Luke reached behind LJ's ear and pulled out a small dart in the shape of a heart. "This is Aphrodite's work. No doubt about it."

"What was?" asked LJ, "Who are you and why do you look like an older version of myself?"

"I'm you," said Luke, "except from the future. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was arguing with Percy about whether I poisoned Thalia or not," said LJ

"You did," said Luke, "Well, I did, but you'll do it in the future. Anyways, we better get going otherwise they'll start wondering where we are."

The two Lukes made their way to Poseidon's beds, where they found Jason, Thalia, Nico, Piper, and Leo watching 300, while AJ and PJ were studying on one of the beds and Percy and Annabeth were making out in the other. Luke smiled when he saw the two pairs, before turning his attention to the future demigods.

"Sorry we're late," said Luke, "we had a hold up. Apparently, Aphrodite's back in business. Either her, or one of her godly children."

"How do you know?" asked Jason, turning off the TV

"I found this behind LJ's ear," said Luke showing everyone the heart-shaped dart. Even both Percys and Annabeths had stopped what they were doing to check it out, "it made him fall in love with Annabeth. Both of them; thing is: he doesn't remember a thing after he argued with Percy about whether he poisoned Thalia or not."

"So she really is going through with it," said Percy, smiling

"Going through with what?" asked Luke

"She promised she wouldn't mess with my love life," said Percy, "she must want to uphold her end if she revealed the dart."

"Well it's a good thing we found it," said Leo

"How long is this break anyway?" asked Nico

"The gods didn't say," said Annabeth, "but I guess they'll tell us when it's time."

"So," said Luke, "what's been going on since I died?"


	19. Chapter 19

After a good 45 minutes, everyone was told to come back to the throne room.

"Where did we leave off?" asked Luke

"Right when we got to Polyphemus's island," said Percy

"Good thing you're at the island," said Zeus, "now you can get the Golden Fleece and sae my daughter."

"Is anyone else oddly reminded of Dora here?" asked Percy randomly. Leo, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Sally, Paul, and, surprisingly, Jason.

"What's Dora?" asked Apollo

"It's some show for toddlers," said Thalia

"The monkey is way too happy for my liking," said Nico

"Dude, your opinion doesn't count here," said Percy

"My opinion should count," said Nico

"You think that a blacklight," said Thalia, "is the only good kind of light."

"Well it's true," said Nico

"For Hades and his kids, maybe," said Percy

"Enough guys," said Annabeth, "we need to get back to reading."

"Okay," said Thalia, while Nico said, "Fine

Percy did neither, opting instead to kiss the top of Annabeth's head

**We Meet the Sheep of Doom!**

**When you think "monster island," you think craggy rocks and bones scattered on the beach like the island of the Sirens.**

"So the Cyclops's island is like that?" asked Nico

**The Cyclops's island was nothing like that. I mean, okay, it had a rope bridge across a chasm, which was not a good sign. You might as well put up a billboard that said, SOMETHING EVIL LIVES HERE.**

"That would have been funny," said Nico

**But except for that, the place looked like a Caribbean postcard. It had green fields and tropical fruit trees and white beaches. As we sailed toward the shore, Annabeth breathed in the sweet air. "The Fleece," she said.**

"Seems like a paradox," said AJ

"It is," said Annabeth

"Would have been awesome to see it," said Luke

"It did look awesome," said Percy, "minus the chasm, that is."

**I nodded. I couldn't see the Fleece yet, but I could feel its power. I could believe it would heal anything, even Thalia's poisoned tree.**

**"If we take it away, will the island die?"**

**Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is."**

**I felt a little guilty about ruining this paradise, but I reminded myself we had no choice. Camp Half-Blood was in trouble. And Tyson ... Tyson would still be with us if it wasn't for this quest.**

"Is Tyson the Cyclops?" asked Luke

"Yeah," said Percy

"He seems somewhat childish at times," said Luke

"Well, he is young for a Cyclops," said Annabeth

"That explains it," said Luke

**In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked peaceful enough, but they were huge—the size of hippos.**

"There were hippo-sized sheep?" asked Piper

"A fully-grown hippo," corrected Annabeth

**Just past them was a path that led up into the hills. At the top of the path, near the edge of the canyon, was the massive oak tree I'd seen in my dreams. Something gold glittered in its branches.**

"The Fleece," said those who have seen it

**"This is too easy," I said. "We could just hike up there and take it?"**

**Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "There's supposed be a guardian. A dragon or …"**

**That's when a deer emerged from the bushes. It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves.** **Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air. A second later the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.**

"What just happened?" asked Leo

"The sheep ate the deer," said Percy

"There were man-eating sheep on the island?" asked PJ

"Yup," said Annabeth

**Annabeth and I exchanged looks.**

**"They're like piranhas," she said.**

**"Piranhas with wool. How will we—"**

"Piranhas with wool indeed," agreed PJ

"He never changes, does he?" asked Luke

"Not much," answered Annabeth

**"Percy!" Annabeth gasped, grabbing my arm. "Look."**

**She pointed down the beach, to just below the sheep meadow, where a small boat had been run aground ... the other lifeboat from the CSS**_**Birmingham.**_

**We decided there was no way we could get past the man-eating sheep. Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece, but in the end I convinced her that something would go wrong. The sheep would smell her. Another guardian would appear. Something. And if that happened, I'd be too far away to help.**

"Yes," said Sally, "because _that's_ why you didn't want her to go."

"Well, at the time yes," blushed Percy, as well as Annabeth

**Besides, our first job was to find Grover and whoever had come ashore in that lifeboat—assuming they'd gotten past the sheep. I was too nervous to say what I was secretly hoping ... that Tyson might still be alive.**

"I wouldn't have put it past you to," said Annabeth

"Yeah, it's in your nature," said Thalia

"You'd always be willing to help," said Nico, "except when you're tired, busy, or with Annabeth."

"What?" asked Percy, blushing again (as well as Annabeth), "Annabeth's awesome."

"I'm not the only one, Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth, "You are too, at times."

"And I'm always awesome," boasted Thalia

"In the dreams of a lightning bolt," said Percy

"If you're lucky," added Nico

**We moored the**_**Queen Anne's Revenge**___**on the back side of the island where the cliffs rose straight up a good two hundred feet. I figured the ship was less likely to be seen there. The cliffs looked climbable, barely—about as difficult as the lava wall back at camp. At least it was free of sheep. I hoped that Polyphemus did not also keep carnivorous mountain goats.**

**We rowed a lifeboat to the edge of the rocks and made our way up, very slowly. Annabeth went first because she was the better climber.**

"Are you sure that was the only reason you let her go first?" asked Leo, waggling his eyebrows

"Yes dipwad," grumbled Percy, "unlike you, I'm not a pervert in disguise."

Everyone laughed, as Leo huffed.

**We only came close to dying six or seven times, which I thought was pretty good.**

"How is that 'pretty good'?" asked Piper

"I think I've gotten close to dying 10 times once," said Percy, "in five hours"

PJ, AJ, Jason, Piper, Leo, LJ, and the past Olympians all had their mouths wide open at how nonchalantly he said it.

"Must have been a good workout," whistled Thalia

**Once, I lost my grip and I found myself dangling by one hand from a ledge fifty feet above the rocky surf. But I found another handhold and kept climbing.**

**A minute later Annabeth hit a slippery patch of moss and her foot slipped. Fortunately, she found something else to put it against. Unfortunately, that something was my face.**

"Sorry about that," said Annabeth

"Wasn't your fault," said Percy

"Wow, you must have hated him that day," said Thalia, "It hasn't been a full day, and you've already kicked him twice in the head."

"I didn't mean both of them," said Annabeth, huffing, "the first one, I was under an enchantment, and the second was accidental."

"I think we all know Wise Girl," said Percy, wrapping his arms tighter and pulling her closer to him, "She was just teasing with you."

Annabeth simply huffed and turned, so one of her shoulders was leaning against his chest.

**"Sorry," she murmured.**

**"S'okay," I grunted, though I'd never really wanted to know what Annabeth's sneaker tasted like.**

**Finally, when my fingers felt like molten lead and my arm muscles were shaking from exhaustion, we hauled our selves over the top of the cliff and collapsed.**

**"Ugh," I said.**

**"Ouch," moaned Annabeth.**

**"Garrr!" bellowed another voice**_**.**_

"Please tell me you're not caught," pleaded Poseidon

"No, I'm not," said Percy, relieving Poseidon, before whispering, "but I can't say the same for you."

"Shut up," smiled Annabeth, as she lightly slapped Percy

**If I hadn't been so tired, I would've leaped another two hundred feet. I whirled around, but I couldn't see who'd spoken.**

**Annabeth clamped her hand over my mouth. She pointed.**

**The ledge we were sitting on was narrower than I'd realized. It dropped off on the opposite side, and that's where the voice was coming from—right below us.**

"Weird you're right above the Cyclops cave," said Nico

"Weird you're a son of Hades," said Thalia, "yet you get super-hyper after eating sugar."

"So he becomes another Leo?" asked Piper

"No," said Thalia, "Leo's still worse."

"Hey!" cried Leo, indignantly.

**"You're a feisty one!" the deep voice bellowed.**

**"Challenge me!" Clarisse's voice, no doubt about it.**

**"Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!"**

**The monster roared with laughter.**

**Annabeth and I crept to the edge. We were right above the entrance of the Cyclops's cave. Below us stood Polyphemus and Grover, still in his wedding dress. Clarisse was tied up, hanging upside down over a pot of boiling water. I was half hoping to see Tyson down there, too. Even if he'd been in danger, at least I would've known he was alive.**

"Wow," said Luke, "you're about to fight a Cyclopes, yet you can't stop thinking of Tyson.

"That's Percy for you," said Thalia

"What else am I supposed to think about?" asked PJ

**But there was no sign of him.**

**"Hmm," Polyphemus pondered. "Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?"**

"He still can't tell Grover's a guy?" asked Leo, "How stupid can he get?"

"Shut it Repair Boy," said Piper, "you didn't know either."

"Yeah," agreed Jason, "you wanted to shave his legs and check."

"I was new to all this," blushed Leo

"That's no excuse," said LJ

"At least I had the decency of shaving the top," said Percy, "not the bottom. Who knows what you'll find."

Everyone laughed at that.

**He turned to Grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps—"**

**"Did you say**_**bride?"**___**Clarisse demanded. "Who— Grover?"**

"She needs to shut up unless she wants to be his bride," said Jason

"I'm afraid she doesn't learn that at the time," said Percy

**Next to me, Annabeth muttered, "Shut up. She has to shut up."**

**Polyphemus glowered. "What 'Grover'?"**

**"The satyr!" Clarisse yelled.**

**"Oh!" Grover yelped. "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down, dear!"**

**Polyphemus's eyelids narrowed over his baleful milky eye, as if he were trying to see Clarisse more clearly.**

**The Cyclops was an even more horrible sight than he had been in my dreams. Partly because his rancid smell was now up close and personal. Partly because he was dressed in his wedding outfit—a crude kilt and shoulder-wrap, stitched together from baby-blue tuxedoes, as if the he'd skinned an entire wedding party.**

"A beauty isn't she?" asked Leo

"Dude," said PJ, "even if I don't know who Clarisse yet, I bet she'd pummel you for saying that, even if she wasn't dating anyone."

"How would you know?" asked Leo

"Face it," said Piper, "no one wants to go out with you."

"Liar," said Leo, "everyone wants to go out with me. They just don't want to admit it."

"Leo," said AJ, "You're weird, creepy, annoying, and downright hyperactive. No girl wants to go out with you."

"Yeah," said PJ, "Listen to Annabeth, she knows best, except for mom and maybe the doctor."

**"What satyr?" asked Polyphemus. "Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?"**

**"No, you big idiot!" bellowed Clarisse.**_**"That**___**satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding** **dress!"**

"Idiot," mumbled PJ, "doesn't she know when to be quiet."

"She has anger issues," said AJ

**I wanted to wring Clarisse's neck, but it was too late. All I could do was watch as Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover's wedding veil—revealing his curly hair, his scruffy adolescent beard, his tiny horns.**

**Polyphemus breathed heavily, trying to contain his anger. "I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU'RE—NO—LADY—CYCLOPS!"**

"Gee, ya think?" asked Leo

**The Cyclops grabbed Grover's dress and tore it away. Underneath, the old Grover reappeared in his jeans and T-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the monster swiped over his head.**

**"Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I—I have a good recipe!"**

"Quick thinking," whistled Apollo

**I reached for my sword, but Annabeth hissed, "Wait!"**

"Why wait?" asked Leo, "Why not just go in there and bash some Cyclops heads?"

"Maybe because he was holding a huge boulder in his hands?" asked Percy

**Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be bride.**

**"Recipe?" he asked Grover.**

**"Oh y-yes! You don't want to eat me raw. You'll get E-Coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I'll taste much better grilled over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go get some mangos right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here."**

"Yeah right," snorted LJ, "even Grover's not that dumb to wait for the Cyclops to eat him."

**The monster pondered this. My heart hammered against my ribs. I figured I'd die if I charged. But I couldn't let the monster kill Grover.**

**"Grilled satyr with mango chutney," Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water. "You a satyr, too?"**

"Did he really ask Clarisse if she was a satyr as well?" asked Piper

"'Fraid so," said Percy

**"No, you overgrown pile of dung!" she yelled. "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me so I can rip your arms off!"**

"Atta girl," cheered Ares, while those who knew Clarisse laughed

"Why are you guys laughing?" asked PJ

"Nothing," said AJ, placing her hand on his, "it's just that the last statement from the book was such a Clarisse thing to say."

"Oh, okay," accepted PJ

Sally, Luke, and Paul smiled as they noticed AJ's hand on PJ's hand, and neither doing anything to remove it, or even acknowledge it.

**"Rip my arms off," Polyphemus repeated.**

**"And stuff them down your throat!"**

"That's exactly how you should treat a Cyclops," nodded LJ

"Not all," said all those who knew Tyson

**"You got spunk."**

**"Let me down!"**

**Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy. "Have to graze sheep now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"**

"Wait, _now_ who's getting married?" asked Leo

"Figure it out," said Piper

**"But ... you're still getting married?" Grover sounded hurt. "Who's the bride?"**

**Polyphemus looked toward the boiling pot.**

**Clarisse made a strangled sound. "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not—"**

**Before Annabeth or I could do anything, Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like she was a ripe apple, and tossed her and Grover deep into the cave. "Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!"**

"So Clarisse is getting married to the Cyclopes?" asked Aphrodite **(A/N I was seriously thinking of including another marriage here. One of a different mouse with cheese from the older Luke, but decided against it)**

"Unfortunately not," said Annabeth

"Besides," said Percy, "I doubt that her boyfriend would like that."

"Boyfriend?" asked Aphrodite and Ares together, "What boyfriend?"

"Our lips are sealed," said Percy, as he, Annabeth, Nico, Piper, Jason, Leo, and Thalia sealed their lips

**Then the Cyclops whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep—smaller than the man-eaters—flooded out of the cave and past their master. As they went to pasture, Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name—Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart, etc.**

"How many were there?" asked Aphrodite

"I think there were like twenty," said Percy, unsurely

"Yeah, there were twenty sheep," said Annabeth

"How were you able to stay there so long without getting your clothes dirty?" asked Aphrodite

"Um," said Annabeth, "our clothes were already dirty."

"You know," said Percy, "from when we went swimming."

"Oh, okay," said Aphrodite

**When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway as easily as I would close a refrigerator door, shutting off the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming inside.**

"Those poor mortals," said Aphrodite, "Imagine how wrinkled their clothes must have been."

"No offense Lady Aphrodite," said Annabeth, "but I'm sure that they had more on their minds then how dirty their clothes were."

"Like how they were hanging from the ceiling," said Percy

**"Mangos," Polyphemus grumbled to himself. "What are mangos?"**

"Mangos are awesome **(It's true)**," said Leo

"Have you even had a mango?" asked Piper

"What kind of ice cream do you think I eat woman?" snapped Leo

"I thought it was orange," said Piper

"My guess was tangerines," said Jason

"I don't really care," shrugged Nico

"Leo creeps me out too much for me to look at him," said Thalia

"Don't look at me," said Annabeth, "I never paid much attention to the camp when I was looking for Percy."

**He strolled off down the mountain in his baby-blue groom's outfit, leaving us alone with a pot of boiling water and a six-ton boulder.**

**We tried for what seemed like hours, but it was no good. The boulder wouldn't move.**

**We yelled into the cracks, tapped on the rock, did everything we could think of to get a signal to Grover, but if he heard us, we couldn't tell.**

**Even if by some miracle we managed to kill Polyphemus, it wouldn't do us any good. Grover and Clarisse would die inside that sealed cave. The only way to move the rock was to have the Cyclops do it.**

"Too bad Tyson isn't there," said Nico, "He'd probably be able to do it without a sweat."

**In total frustration, I stabbed Riptide against the boulder. Sparks flew, but nothing else**

**happened. A large rock is not the kind of enemy you can fight with a magic sword.**

**Annabeth and I sat on the ridge in despair and watched the distant baby-blue shape of the Cyclops as he moved among his flocks. He had wisely divided his regular animals from his man-eating sheep, putting each group on either side of the huge crevice that divided the island. The only way across was the rope bridge, **

**and the planks were much too far apart for sheep hooves.**

**We watched as Polyphemus visited his carnivorous flock on the far side.**

**Unfortunately, they didn't eat him.**

**In fact, they didn't seem to bother him at all. He fed them chunks of mystery meat from a great wicker basket, which only reinforced the feelings I'd been having since Circe turned me into a guinea pig—that maybe it was time I joined Grover and became a vegetarian.**

"Did you?" asked PJ

"Nope," said Percy

"Though he does eat less meat then before," said Annabeth

**"Trickery," Annabeth decided. "We can't beat him by force, so we'll have to use trickery."**

**"Okay," I said. "What trick?'**

**"I haven't figured that part out yet."**

**"Great."**

**"Polyphemus will have to move the rock to let the sheep inside."**

**"At sunset," I said. "Which is when he'll marry Clarisse and have Grover for dinner. I'm not sure which is grosser."**

"They're equally gross," said AJ

**"I could get inside," she said, "Invisibly."**

**"What about me?"**

**"The sheep," Annabeth mused. She gave me one of those sly looks that always made me wary.** **"How much do you like sheep?"**

"You know," said Apollo, "there are great Indian recipes for eating sheep."

"India Indian or American Indians?" asked Piper

"Oh, India Indians," said Apollo, "don't worry, I know you're part Native American."

"How did you…?" trailed Leo

"Mind reading," said Apollo, "And don't worry Piper, we only read minds from time to time. I only did it then to find out why you asked that question."

**"Just don't let go!" Annabeth said, standing invisibly somewhere off to my right. That was easy for her to say. She wasn't hanging upside down from the belly of a sheep.**

**Now, I'll admit it wasn't as hard as I'd thought. I'd crawled under a car before to change my mom's oil, and this wasn't too different. The sheep didn't care. Even the Cyclops's smallest sheep were big enough to support my weight, and they had thick wool. I just twirled the stuff into handles for my hands, hooked my feet against the sheep's thigh bones, and presto—I felt like a baby wallaby, riding around against the sheep's chest, trying to keep the wool out of my mouth and my nose.**

"A wallaby?" asked Leo

"Baby kangaroo," said Jason, "I think."

"Yeah you're right," said Annabeth

"I'm surprised you actually know what a wallaby is, Waterboy," said Thalia

"I don't even remember where I heard it from," said Percy

**In case you're wondering, the underside of a sheep doesn't smell that great.**

**Imagine a winter sweater that's been dragged through the mud and left in the laundry hamper for a week. Something like that.**

**The sun was going down.**

**No sooner was I in position than the Cyclops roared, "Oy! Goaties! Sheepies!"**

**The flock dutifully began trudging back up the slopes toward the cave.**

**"This is it!" Annabeth whispered. "I'll be close by. Don't worry."**

"Of course she'd be close to him," said Thalia

"They can't stand not being near each other," said Nico

Aphrodite squealed as Percy and Annabeth blushed.

"It'll only be a matter of time before the younger ones are inseparable as well," said Sally, causing PJ and AJ to blush, while the older versions blushed even more.

**I made a silent promise to the gods that if we survived this, I'd tell Annabeth she was a genius. The frightening thing was, I knew the gods would hold me to it.**

"Has he told you yet?" asked Thalia

"Actually he told me that while I was designing," said Annabeth

"I've called her a genius several times that day," said Percy

"The first time he said it," said Annabeth, "I didn't believe him, but after he explained why he called me a genius the first time, I believed him. Then, after he looked at my drawings, he called me a genius once again, and then explained why for that as well."

**My sheep taxi started plodding up the hill. After a hundred yards, my hands and feet started to hurt from holding on.**

**I gripped the sheep's wool more tightly, and the animal made a grumbling sound. I didn't blame it. I wouldn't want anybody rock-climbing in my hair either. But if I didn't hold on, I was sure I'd fall off right there in front of the monster.**

"Only you would compare rock-climbing to holding onto hair," said Thalia

**"Hasenpfeffer!" the Cyclops said, patting one of the sheep in front of me. "Einstein! Widget—eh there, Widget!"**

Everyone laughed

"You grabbed onto a sheep named Widget?" asked Nico

"Imagine what would have happened if the sheep's name was Midget," said Luke

**Polyphemus patted my sheep and nearly knocked me to the ground. "Putting on some extra mutton there?"**

_**Uh-oh,**___**I thought.**_**Here it comes.**_

**But Polyphemus just laughed and swatted the sheep's rear end, propelling us forward.**

**"Go on, fatty! Soon Polyphemus will eat you for breakfast!"**

"Hopefully not without Percy," said Poseidon

**And just like that, I was in the cave.**

**I could see the last of the sheep coming inside. If Annabeth didn't pull off her distraction soon ...**

**The Cyclops was about to roll the stone back into place, when from somewhere outside**

**Annabeth shouted, "Hello, ugly!"**

**Polyphemus stiffened. "Who said that?"**

**"Nobody!" Annabeth yelled.**

Suddenly, Thalia and Nico's face had realization on something.

"What is it?" asked Leo, noticing the two's reaction

"Remember during the first few chapters," said Thalia, "when Percy said that the shadow near the building belonged to Nobody?"

Just then most of the people in the room went wide-eyed in realization.

"I don't get it," said Leo

"The shadow belonged to Annabeth," sighed Piper, "who was invisible at the time, and claims to be Nobody when she fights with Polyphemus."

"Oh, okay," said Leo, as if he understood it, before quietly mumbling, "I still don't get it."

**That got exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for. The monster's face turned red with rage.**

**"Nobody!" Polyphemus yelled back. "I remember you!"**

"No you don't," said Leo

"Did he really think that Annabeth was Nobody?" asked Athena, "Did he not notice the gender difference in the voices?"

"Nope," said Annabeth

"Wait," said Leo, "there was a Nobody before Annabeth? Now I'm really confused."

**"You're too stupid to remember anybody," Annabeth taunted. "Much less Nobody."**

**I hoped to the gods she was already moving when she said that, because Polyphemus bellowed furiously, grabbed the nearest boulder (which happened to be his front door) and threw it toward the sound of Annabeth's voice. I heard the rock smash into a thousand fragments.**

**For a terrible moment, there was silence. Then Annabeth shouted, "You haven't learned to throw any better, either!"**

**Polyphemus howled. "Come here! Let me kill you, Nobody!"**

**"You can't kill Nobody, you stupid oaf," she taunted. "Come find me!"**

"You can't find what you can't see," said AJ

"Which is the basic logic of why she asked Polyphemus to find her," said PJ before Leo could speak.

**Polyphemus barreled down the hill toward her voice.**

**Now, the "Nobody" thing wouldn't have made sense to anybody,**

"It doesn't to me," said Leo

"Yeah," said Piper, "but you're you."

**but Annabeth had explained to me that it was the name Odysseus had used to trick Polyphemus centuries ago, right before he poked the Cyclops's eye out with a large hot stick. Annabeth had figured Polyphemus would still have a grudge about that name, and she was right. In his frenzy to find his old enemy, he forgot about resealing the cave entrance. Apparently, he didn't even stop to consider that Annabeth's voice was female, whereas the first Nobody had been male.**

"What a dumbbutt," said Nico

**On the other hand, he'd wanted to marry Grover, so he couldn't have been all that bright about the whole male/female thing.**

"I didn't realize that," said Leo

"Leo, shut up," said Piper, charmspeaking.

**I just hoped Annabeth could stay alive and keep distracting him long enough for me to find Grover and Clarisse.**

**I searched the main room, but there was no sign of Grover or Clarisse. I pushed through the crowd of sheep and goats toward the back of the cave.**

**Even though I'd dreamed about this place, I had a hard time finding my way through the maze. I ran down corridors littered with bones, past rooms full of sheepskin rugs and life-size cement sheep that I recognized as the work of Medusa. There were collections of sheep T-shirts; large tubs of lanolin cream; and wooly coats, socks, and hats with ram's horns.**

**Finally, I found the spinning room, where Grover was huddled in the corner, trying to cut Clarisse's bonds with a pair of safety scissors.**

"Was he really?" asked Jason

"Yeah," said Percy

"I need to knock some sense into that goat," said Thalia

"In his defense," said Percy, "there wasn't much else to cut her bonds with."

**"It's no good," Clarisse said. "This rope is like iron!"**

**"Just a few more minutes!"**

**"Grover," she cried, exasperated. "You've been working at it for hours!"**

**And then they saw me.**

_**"Percy?"**___**Clarisse said. "You're supposed to be blown up!"**

"Good to see you, too" said PJ

**"Good to see you, too. Now hold still while I—"**

**"Perrrrrcy!" Grover bleated and tackled me with a goat-hug. "You heard me! You came!"**

**"Yeah, buddy," I said. "Of course I came."**

**"Where's Annabeth?"**

**"Outside," I said. "But there's no time to talk. Clarisse, hold still."**

**I uncapped Riptide and sliced off her ropes. She stood stiffly, rubbing her wrists. She glared at me for a moment, then looked at the ground and mumbled, "Thanks."**

**"You're welcome," I said. "Now, was anyone else on board your lifeboat?"**

"Always looking out for others," said Thalia, "Even when he doesn't know them."

"That's Percy for you," said Nico

**Clarisse looked surprised. "No. Just me. Everybody else aboard the**_**Birmingham...**_ **well, I didn't even know you guys made it out."**

**I looked down, trying not to believe that my last hope of seeing Tyson alive had just** **been crushed.**

**"Okay. Come on, then. We have to help—"**

**An explosion echoed through the cave, followed by a scream that told me we might be too late. It was Annabeth crying out in fear.**

"That'll get his attention," said Thalia

"Yeah," said Nico, "Percy'll always come to Annabeth's rescue."

Everyone laughed, while Percy shrugged, "It's true, though."

This caused everyone to laugh harder, while Percy just sat there grinning and Annabeth was snuggling up to him.


	20. Chapter 20

"Well." Said Athena, "At least I know there's _someone_ out there watching out for Annabeth."

"Actually, Lady Athena," said Sally, "it's more like Annabeth's watching Percy. The boy gets in _so_ much trouble in so little time, only Annabeth can help get him out."

Everyone laughed, while Percy blushed

"Well, sometimes we help too," said Thalia, gesturing to herself and Nico

"Yeah right," said Percy, "when it was just Thalia and me, we almost blew each other's brains out with our powers, _and_ you did nothing to stop me from following you on the quest half way across the country. As for Nico, the one time I let him lead me somewhere, I end up Hades's prison."

"I said I was sorry!" said Nico, while Thalia said, "Well, you pissed me off that time."

"I was just teasing, Nikky," said Percy, "and you had too many on you that time. IT wasn't my fault that there was an opportunity and I took it."

"So it's my fault?" asked Thalia, sparks coming from her hair

"I didn't say that," said Percy, the nearby water getting restless

"Hey guys, cut it out!" said Nico

"Stay out of this Death Breath!" said Percy, while Thalia said, "Go back playing to your Mythomagic dolls."

"You did not," growled Nico, shadows starting to cling to him, "They're not dolls, they're actions figures!"

"They're dolls, Nico," said Thalia

"At least I don't have to rely on a puppy to help me find food!" said Nico, "or my girlfriend to help me with my homework!"

"You did not just go there," growled Percy, now standing, along with Thalia and Nico

All three had their weapons out, and were in fighting stances.

"Hey, guys seriously, cut it out!" yelled Annabeth, getting in between the three

"Yeah," said Luke, also getting in between the Big 3 kids, "you're going to destroy this place."

"Fine," said Percy, putting his sword away and walking back to his seat, "but only because Annabeth asked me too."

"Same here," said Thalia, who also put her weapons away and sitting down

"You can't fight those who won't fight back," said Nico, and went back to his seat.

Annabeth and Luke both sighed, and went to sit down. Luke sat next to Thalia, while Annabeth sat on Percy's lap once again.

**Nobody gets the Fleece**

"Then how'd it get to Camp?" asked Leo, confused

"Is he really that much of an idiot?" asked Luke

"Apparently," said Piper

"**I got Nobody!" Polyphemus gloated.**

**We crept to the cave entrance and saw the Cyclops, grinning wickedly, holding up empty air. The monster shook his fist, and a baseball cap fluttered to the ground. There was Annabeth, hanging upside down by her legs.**

**"Hah!" the Cyclops said. "Nasty invisible girl! Already got feisty one for wife. Means you gotta be grilled with mango chutney!"**

"He must really want that mango chutney," said Leo

**Annabeth struggled, but she looked dazed. She had a nasty cut on her forehead. Her eyes were glassy.**

**"I'll rush him," I whispered to Clarisse. "Our ship is around the back of the island. You and Grover—"**

**"No way," they said at the same time. Clarisse had armed herself with a highly collectible rams-horn spear** **from the Cyclops's cave. Grover had found a sheep's thigh bone, which he didn't look too happy about, but he was gripping it like a club, ready to attack.**

"OF course he wouldn't look too happy about holding a sheep's thigh bone," said Thalia, "they're practically quarter-brothers."

"How are they even related?" asked LJ

"Grover's a goat boy," said Thalia, "and goats are practically sheep to me."

**"We'll take him together," Clarisse growled.**

**"Yeah," Grover said. Then he blinked, like he couldn't believe he'd just agreed with Clarisse about something.**

**"All right," I said. "Attack plan Macedonia."**

"Attack plan Macedonia?" asked Paul

"Why do I not like the sound of that?" asked Sally

**They nodded. We'd all taken the same training courses at Camp Half-Blood. They knew what I was talking about. They would sneak around either side and attack the Cyclops from the flanks while I held his attention in the front. Probably what this meant was that we'd**_**all**_ **die instead of just me, but I was grateful for the help.**

"Great," said Sally, "as much as I would love to hear what went on on your quests, I don't think I can handle hearing you almost dying every other page."

Everyone laughed, as Percy said, "Don't worry, mom, I don't come close to dying every other page."

Sally sighed at this, but sighed too soon, as Percy said, "I come close to dying like every fifth page or something."

**I hefted my sword and shouted, "Hey, Ugly!"**

**The giant whirled toward me.**_**"Another**___**one? Who are you?"**

"You're half brother," said Thalia, "you know, the one that doesn't have the heart to kill demigods?"

"So what if I can't kill something that only dies once?" shrugged, Percy, "sue me."

**"Put down my friend.**_**I'm**___**the one who insulted you."**

_**"You**___**are Nobody?"**

**"That's right, you smelly bucket of nose drool!" It didn't sound quite as good as Annabeth's insults, but it was all I could think of.**

**"I'm Nobody and I'm proud of it! Now, put her down and get over here. I want to stab your eye out again."**

**"RAAAR!" he bellowed.**

**The good news: he dropped Annabeth. The bad news: he dropped her headfirst onto the rocks, where she lay motionless as a rag doll.**

"Really?" asked Athena, "You let him drop Annabeth headfirst?"

"Well, how else was I going to get him to let go of Annabeth in such short notice?" asked Percy

**The other bad news: Polyphemus barreled toward me, a thousand smelly pounds of Cyclops that I would have to fight with a very small sword.**

**"For Pan!" Grover rushed in from the right. He threw his sheep bone, which bounced harmlessly off the monster's forehead.**

**Clarisse ran in from the left and set her spear against the ground just in time for the Cyclops to step on it. He wailed in pain, and Clarisse dove out of the way to avoid getting trampled. But the Cyclops just plucked out the shaft like a large splinter and kept advancing on me.**

"Oh boy," groaned Poseidon

**I moved in with Riptide.**

**The monster made a grab for me. I rolled aside and stabbed him in the thigh.**

**I was hoping to see him disintegrate,** **but this monster was much too big and powerful.**

"No shit, Dipwad," said Thalia

**"Get Annabeth!" I yelled at Grover.**

**He rushed over, grabbed her invisibility cap, and picked her up while Clarisse and I tried to keep Polyphemus distracted. I have to admit, Clarisse was brave.**

"I think you already said that when you arrived at camp," said Hermes

"Your point?" asked Percy

**She charged the Cyclops again and again. He pounded the ground, stomped at her, grabbed at her, but she was too quick. And as soon as she made an attack, I followed up by stabbing the monster in the toe or the ankle or the hand.**

"It's a good strategy," said Athena, "but you two won't be able to keep it up forever."

**But we couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually we would tire or the monster would get in a lucky shot. It would only take one hit to kill us.**

**Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grover carrying Annabeth across the rope bridge. It wouldn't have been my first choice, given the man-eating sheep on the other side, but at the moment that looked better than**_**this**___**side of the chasm, and it gave me an idea.**

**"Fall back!" I told Clarisse.**

**She rolled away as the Cyclops's fist smashed the olive tree beside her.**

"How dare he?" growled Athena, "Poseidon, how can you stand this?"

"I don't," said Poseidon, "Half my children don't like me, and tend to do things I don't like. Do you think I want him to destroy stuff made by other gods? I don't mind if they pray to other gods, as long as they don't make enemies with them."

**We ran for the bridge, Polyphemus right behind us. He was cut up and hobbling from so many wounds, but all we'd done was slow him down and make him mad.**

**"Grind you into sheep chow!" he promised. "A thousand curses on Nobody!"**

"Yeah?" asked Poseidon, "Well I cancel those curses."

"Well," said Leo, "I think we all know who the protective parent is in this relationship."

"Yeah," smirked Annabeth, "both of his biological parents."

"I don't really mind," shrugged Percy, as everyone not Poseidon or Sally laughed.

**"Faster!" I told Clarisse.**

**We tore down the hill. The bridge was our only chance. Grover had just made it to the other side and was setting Annabeth down. We had to make it across, too, before the giant caught us.**

**"Grover!" I yelled. "Get Annabeth's knife!"**

**His eyes widened when he saw the Cyclops behind us, but he nodded like he understood. As Clarisse and I scrambled across the bridge, Grover began sawing at the ropes.**

"Good plan," said AJ, "if you can cut the ropes before Polyphemus gets across, then you might have a chance."

**The first strand went**_**snap!**_

**Polyphemus bounded after us, making the bridge sway wildly.**

**The ropes were now half cut. Clarisse and I dove for solid ground, landing beside Grover. I made a wild slash with my sword and cut the remaining ropes.**

**The bridge fell away into the chasm, and the Cyclops howled**

**.. with delight, because he was standing right next to us.**

"Oh boy," groaned Poseidon

"It seemed like he had fallen down the chasm," said Athena

"We all thought that," said Percy

**"Failed!" he yelled gleefully. "Nobody failed!"**

"So everybody passed, then?" asked Leo

**Clarisse and Grover tried to charge him, but the monster swatted them aside like flies.**

**My anger swelled. I couldn't believe I'd come this far, lost Tyson, suffered through so much, only to fail—stopped by a big stupid monster in a baby-blue tuxedo kilt.**

Everyone laughed at the description.

"Now Polyphemus is in for it," said Nico once everyone calmed down

"No one wants to mess with an angry Percy," said Thalia

**Nobody was going to swat down my friends like that! I mean ...**_**nobody,**___**not Nobody. Ah, you know what I mean.**

Everyone laughed once again at this momentary confusion. No one in the throne room could say that they didn't welcome the release of the building tension in there.

**Strength coursed through my body. I raised my sword and attacked, forgetting that I was hopelessly outmatched. I jabbed the Cyclops in the belly. When he doubled over I smacked him in the nose with the hilt of my sword. I slashed and kicked and bashed until the next thing I knew, Polyphemus was sprawled on his back, dazed and groaning, and I was standing above him, the tip of my sword hovering over his eye.**

"Wow," said LJ, wide-eyed, "can I rethink this duel?"

"I warned you, didn't I?" asked Annabeth

"I'm not sure," said LJ, "I only know of the fight because Leo told me."

"What?" asked Leo, at the few glares he got (*ahem*Sally, Annabeth, AJ, Poseidon*ahem*), "I thought he should know."

"Guys, it's fine," said Percy, "the fight's off anyway."

"Aww," whined Ares, "I wanted a good fight."

"How about Jason against Percy, then?" asked Annabeth

"Me and Percy?" asked Jason, "I'm okay if he's fine with it."

"It'd be a good way to make sure I don't lose my edge," shrugged Percy

"I say we should have a team fight," said Thalia, "Me, Jason, LJ, Piper, and Leo against Percy, Annabeth, Luke, AJ, and Nico."

"I want to fight," said PJ

"DO you even know how to?" asked Thalia

"Yeah," said PJ, "Annabeth's been teaching me."

"He's gotten really good," said AJ

"And why haven't we heard about this?" asked Thalia

"Because we decided to surprise everyone," said AJ, "it was Percy's idea."

"It's a good idea," said PJ

"Never said it wasn't," said AJ

"Okay, fine," said Thalia, "it's me, Jason, LJ, Piper, and Leo against Annabeth, Percy, PJ, AJ, and Luke. Nico can judge."

"This'll be good," whispered Sally to Paul, "I've heard from Chiron that he's gotten really good at swordfighting, but I haven't seen him much in action."

"Neither have I," admitted Paul, "I only saw him fight a little at the Battle of Manhattan, but not much."

**"Uhhhhhhhh," Polyphemus moaned.**

**"Percy!" Grover gasped. "How did you—"**

**"Please, noooo!" the Cyclops moaned, pitifully staring up at me.**

**His nose was bleeding. A tear welled in the corner of his half-blind eye. "M-m-my sheepies need me. Only trying to protect my sheep!"**

"Is he really?" asked Piper, disbelievingly

"I don't know," admitted Percy

"Don't look at me," said Annabeth, "I was unconscious."

**He began to sob.**

**I had won. All I had to do was stab—one quick strike.**

**"Kill him!" Clarisse yelled. "What are you waiting for?"**

**The Cyclops sounded so heartbroken, just like ... like Tyson.**

"I can see why you hesitated there now," said Annabeth

**"He's a Cyclops!" Grover warned. "Don't trust him!"**

**I knew he was right. I knew Annabeth would've said the same thing.**

"At the time, probably," said Annabeth

"It's fine," said Percy, "you had your reasons."

**But Polyphemus sobbed ... and for the first time it sank in that**_**he**___**was a son of Poseidon, too. Like Tyson. Like me. How could I just kill him in cold blood?**

"It is hard to kill your own siblings," said Luke, "It's even harder when the person you're killing reminds you of someone you were close to. Take my word for it."

**"We only want the Fleece," I told the monster. "Will you agree to let us take it?"**

**"No!" Clarisse shouted. "Kill him!"**

**The monster sniffed. "My beautiful Fleece. Prize of my collection. Take it, cruel human. Take it and go in peace."**

**"I'm going to step back slowly," I told the monster. "One false move ..."**

**Polyphemus nodded like he understood.**

"He's not going to do it," said Athena

"I had to try," said Percy

**I stepped back ... and as fast as a cobra, Polyphemus smacked me to the edge of the cliff.**

**"Foolish mortal!" he bellowed, rising to his feet. "Take my Fleece? Ha! I eat you first."**

**He opened his enormous mouth, and I knew that his rotten molars were the last things I would ever see.**

**Then something went**_**whoosh**___**over my head and**_**thump!**_

"Tyson?" asked Thalia, who was answered by a nod by Percy and Annabeth

**A rock the size of a basketball sailed into Polyphemus's throat—a beautiful three-pointer, nothing but net.**

**The Cyclops choked, trying to swallow the unexpected pill. He staggered backward, but there was no place to stagger. His heel slipped, the edge of the cliff crumbled, and the great Polyphemus made chicken wing motions that did nothing to help him fly as he tumbled into the chasm.**

Everyone laughed at this.

**I turned.**

**Halfway down the path to the beach, standing completely unharmed in the midst of a flock of killer sheep, was an old friend.**

**"Bad Polyphemus," Tyson said.** **"Not all Cyclopes as nice as we look."**

"And not all Cyclopes are as bad as people think they might be," said Percy

**Tyson gave us the short version: Rainbow the hippocampus—who'd apparently been following us ever since the Long Island Sound, waiting for Tyson to play with him—**

Everyone had a smile on their face

"That is so Rainbow," said Thalia, smiling as she shook her head

"I think he takes it from Tyson," said Percy, also smiling

**had found Tyson sinking beneath the wreckage of the CSS**_**Birmingham**___**and pulled him to safety. He and Tyson had been searching the Sea of Monsters ever since, trying to find us, until Tyson caught the scent of sheep and found this island.**

**I wanted to hug the big oaf, except he was standing in the middle of killer sheep.**

"Yeah, running into killer sheep may not be the best idea," said Thalia

**"Tyson, thank the gods. Annabeth is hurt!"**

"Of course she's the first thing that comes into his mind," said Thalia

"Will you stop it?" asked Percy, "I think we all know that me and Annabeth would do anything to make sure the other was fine."

**"You thank the gods she is hurt?" he asked, puzzled.**

**"No!" I knelt beside Annabeth and was worried sick by what I saw. The gash on her forehead was worse than I'd realized. Her hairline was sticky with blood. Her skin was pale and clammy.**

"Doesn't sound too good," said Leo

"How did you recover?" asked Athena

"Sometimes gold does help," said Annabeth, and Athena understood, unlike Leo, who was as confused as ever.

**Grover and I exchanged nervous looks. Then an idea came to me. "Tyson, the Fleece. Can you get it for me?"**

"So it was Percy who came up with the idea?" asked Thalia

"I have my moments," said Percy

**"Which one?" Tyson said, looking around at the hundreds of sheep.**

**"In the tree!" I said. "The gold one!"**

**"Oh. Pretty. Yes."**

"Yes it's pretty," said Hera, "now just get it."

"Don't talk to Tyson that way," snapped Percy

"Why, you disgraceful, litte—," started Hera, but was interrupted

"And you're a big disgraceful one," said Annabeth, "now, shut up."

"Don't talk to me in that tone, little demigod scum," snarled Hera

"Don't talk to my daughter/Annabeth/big me that way," said Athena, Percy, PJ, Thalia, Nico, Luke, and AJ at the same time

"I'm the Queen of the gods," said Hera, pompously, "I can do whatever I want."

"I can tell you one thing you can't do," said Percy, "be nice to demigods."

"I can be nice if I want to," said Hera

"Prove it," said Annabeth, "You know what the mortals say: 'Actions speak louder than words.'"

**Tyson lumbered over, careful not to step on the sheep. If any of us had tried to approach the Fleece, we would've been eaten alive, but I guess Tyson smelled like Polyphemus, because the flock didn't bother him at all. They just cuddled up to him and bleated affectionately, as though they expected to get sheep treats from the big wicker basket.**

**Tyson reached up and lifted the Fleece off its branch. Immediately the leaves on the oak tree turned yellow. Tyson started wading back toward me, but I yelled, "No time! Throw it!"**

**The gold ram skin sailed through the air like a glittering shag Frisbee. I caught it with a grunt. It was heavier than I'd expected**

"Of course it would be," said Thalia, "it is gold."

"I thought it was just colored or painted that way," shrugged Percy, "I had no idea it was made out of real gold."

—**sixty or seventy pounds of precious gold wool.**

**I spread it over Annabeth, covering everything but her face, and prayed silently to all the gods I could think of, even the ones I didn't like.**

"Please don't tell me you included Hera," whined Annabeth

"Sorry," said Percy, "but in my defense, this was before we hated her."

"Any reason why?" asked Piper, while Sally scolded her son for hating a goddess, much less the queen of gods.

"Hera didn't take kindly when Annabeth revealed to everyone that Hera only likes perfect families, and sent cows after her," said Percy, "while I just hate her for separating me from Annabeth and making her and mom worry."

_**Please. Please.**_

**The color returned to her face. Her eyelids fluttered open. The cut on her forehead began to close. She saw Grover and said weakly, "You're not... married?"**

"Really?" asked Thalia, face-palming, "I think Waterboy is rubbing off on you."

"Thalia, Thalia, Thalia," said Nico, shaking his head, "Aquaman has rubbed off on all of us."

**Grover grinned. "No. My friends talked me out of it."**

**"Annabeth," I said, "just lay still."**

**But despite our protests she sat up, and I noticed that the cut on her face was almost completely healed. She looked a lot better. In fact, she shimmered with health, as if someone had injected her with glitter.**

**Meanwhile, Tyson was starting to have trouble with the sheep. "Down!" he told them as they tried to climb him, looking for food. A few were sniffing in our direction. "No, sheepies. This way! Come here!"**

**They heeded him, but it was obvious they were hungry, and they were starting to realize Tyson didn't have any treats for them. They wouldn't hold out forever with so much fresh meat nearby.**

"I don't think people would appreciate being called fresh meat," said Thalia

"I was thinking in the sheep's point of view?" asked Percy

**"We have to go," I said. "Our ship is..." The**_**Queen Anne's Revenge**___**was a very long way away. The shortest route was across the chasm, and we'd just destroyed the only bridge. The only other possibility was through the sheep.**

**"Tyson," I called, "can you lead the flock as far away as possible?"**

**"The sheep want food."**

**"I know! They want people food! Just lead them away from the path. Give us time to** **get to the beach. Then join us there."**

"You're sacrificing Tyson?" asked Luke

"Good riddance," said LJ

"Not good riddance," said Percy, "he comes back later."

"Dammnit," said LJ

**Tyson looked doubtful, but he whistled. "Come, sheepies! Um, people food this way!"**

**He jogged off into the meadow, the sheep in pursuit.**

**"Keep the Fleece around you," I told Annabeth. "Just in case you're not fully healed yet. Can you stand?"**

**She tried, but her face turned pale again. "Ohh.**_**Not**___**fully healed."**

"What happened this time?" asked Athena

"Broken ribs," said Annabeth, smiling sheepishly

**Clarisse dropped next to her and felt her chest, which made Annabeth gasp.**

**"Ribs broken," Clarisse said. "They're mending, but definitely broken."**

**"How can you tell?" I asked.**

**Clarisse glared at me. "Because I've broken a few, runt! I'll have to carry her."**

"Clarisse never gives up, does she?" asked Piper

"Not really," said Percy

**Before I could argue, Clarisse picked up Annabeth like a sack of flour and lugged her down to the beach. Grover and I followed.**

**As soon as we got to the edge of the water, I concentrated on the**_**Queen Anne's Revenge.**___**I willed it to raise anchor and come to me. After a few anxious minutes, I saw the ship rounding the tip of the island.**

"Again," said Leo, "that is an awesome power!"

**"Incoming!" Tyson yelled. He was bounding down the path to join us, the sheep about fifty yards behind, bleating in frustration as their Cyclops friend ran away without feeding them.**

**"They probably won't follow us into the water," I told the others. "All we have to do is swim for the ship."**

**"With Annabeth like this?" Clarisse protested.**

**"We can do it," I insisted. I was starting to feel confident again. I was back in my home turf—the sea.**

"And you'll be protected too," said Poseidon

"Thank gods he will be," said Sally

**"Once we get to the ship, we're home free."**

**We almost made it, too.**

**We were just wading past the entrance to the ravine, when we heard a tremendous roar and saw Polyphemus, scraped up and bruised but still very much alive, his baby-blue wedding outfit in tatters, splashing toward us with a boulder in each hand.**

"I thought he fell down the chasm," said Leo

"He did," said Percy, "but he came back up."


	21. Chapter 21

"That's just bad luck right there," said Luke

"My whole life is bad luck," said Percy, "there's only snippets of good luck in it."

"Snippets of good luck?" asked Piper

"Oh yeah," said Annabeth, "there's no way Percy would be Percy without the bad luck he has."

**I go Down with the Ship**

"Great," said Athena, "this must be further proof of his bad luck."

**"You'd think he'd run out of rocks," I muttered.**

"Really Aquaman?" asked Nico, face-palming, "You're about to die, and that's what you ask?"

**"Swim for it!" Grover said.**

**He and Clarisse plunged into the surf. Annabeth hung on to Clarisse's neck and tried to paddle with one hand, the wet Fleece weighing her down.**

"It was hard," said Annabeth

**But the monster's attention wasn't on the Fleece.**

**"You, young Cyclops!" Polyphemus roared. "Traitor to your kind!"**

"I think not," said Poseidon

"Who do you think you are deciding whether Tyson is a traitor or not?" asked Thalia

**Tyson froze.**

**"Don't listen to him!" I pleaded. "Come on."**

**I pulled Tyson's arm, but I might as well have been pulling a mountain. He turned and faced the older Cyclops. "I am not a traitor."**

"Damn right you're not," said Nico

**"You serve mortals!" Polyphemus shouted. "Thieving humans!"**

"Not all humans are thieves," said PJ

"Just like not all thieves are human," said Percy

**Polyphemus threw his first boulder. Tyson swatted it aside with his fist.**

**"Not a traitor," Tyson said. "And you are**_**not**___**my kind."**

"Damn right he is," said Nico

**"Death or victory!" Polyphemus charged into the surf, but his foot was still wounded. He immediately stumbled and fell on his face.**

Everyone laughed at this.

**That would've been funny, except he started to get up again, spitting salt water and growling.**

**"Percy!" Clarisse yelled. "Come on!"**

**They were almost to the ship with the Fleece. If I could just keep the monster distracted a little longer ...**

**"Go," Tyson told me. "I will hold Big Ugly."**

"What kind of insult is that?" asked LJ

"That's actually pretty good for Tyson," said Percy

**"No! He'll kill you." I'd already lost Tyson once. I wasn't going to lose him again.**

"Oh, Percy," said Thalia, "you know one day, your loyalty's going to get you in big trouble."

"Hasn't got me in big trouble yet," said Percy, "so, I'm fine."

**"We'll fight him together."**

**"Together," Tyson agreed.**

**I drew my sword.**

**Polyphemus advanced carefully, limping worse than ever. But there was nothing wrong with his throwing arm. He chucked his second boulder. I dove to one side, but I still would've been squashed if Tyson's fist hadn't blasted the rock to rubble.**

"Dang, he's strong," said LJ

"Yeah, he is," agreed Nico

**I willed the sea to rise. A twenty-foot wave surged up, lifting me on its crest. I rode toward the Cyclops and kicked him in the eye,** **leaping over his head as the water blasted him onto the beach.**

**"Destroy you!" Polyphemus spluttered. "Fleece stealer!"**

"Need I remind you that _you_ stole the Fleece first?" asked Poseidon

_**"You**___**stole the Fleece!" I yelled. "You've been using it to lure satyrs to their deaths!"**

**"So? Satyrs good eating!"**

"That's a terrible reason to use," said Thalia

**"The Fleece should be used to heal! It belongs to the children of the gods!"**

_**"I**___**am a child of the gods!" Polyphemus swiped at me, but I sidestepped. "Father Poseidon, curse this thief!"**

**He was blinking hard now, like he could barely see, and I realized he was targeting by the sound of my voice.**

"At least you realized something," said Thalia

**"Poseidon won't curse me," I said, backing up as the Cyclops grabbed air. "I'm his son, too. He won't play favorites."**

"Not if it has do to between Cyclops and demigod children," said Poseidon

**Polyphemus roared. He ripped an olive tree out of the side of the cliff and smashed it where I'd been standing a moment before. "Humans not the same! Nasty, tricky, lying!"**

**Grover was helping Annabeth aboard the ship. Clarisse was waving frantically at me, telling me to come on.**

**Tyson worked his way around Polyphemus, trying to get behind him.**

"Why is he going behind Polyphemus?" asked Piper

**"Young one!" the older Cyclops called. "Where are you? Help me!"**

**Tyson stopped.**

"**No don't listen to him." Rachel said.**

**"You weren't raised right!" Polyphemus wailed, shaking his olive tree club. "Poor orphaned brother! Help me!"**

"Tyson was raised right," said Percy, "he was raised like all Cyclops do these days, and happened to pick up better habits than you did."

**No one moved. No sound but the ocean and my own heartbeat. Then Tyson stepped forward, raising his hands defensively. "Don't fight, Cyclops brother. Put down the—"**

**Polyphemus spun toward his voice.**

**"Tyson!" I shouted.**

**The tree struck him with such force it would've flattened me into a Percy pizza with extra olives.**

"I wonder what that tastes like," said Nico

"I wonder what a Nico knuckle sandwich tastes like," said Percy, shutting up his cousin effectively

**Tyson flew backward, plowing a trench in the sand. Polyphemus charged after him, but I shouted, "No!" and lunged as far as I could with Riptide. I'd hoped to sting Polyphemus in the back of the thigh, but I managed to leap a little bit higher.**

**"Blaaaaah!" Polyphemus bleated just like his sheep, and swung at me with his tree.**

**I dove, but still got raked across the back by a dozen jagged branches. I was bleeding and bruised and exhausted. The guinea pig inside me wanted to bolt.**

Everyone smiled or chuckled at that.

**But I swallowed down my fear.**

**Polyphemus swung the tree again, but this time I was ready. I grabbed a branch as it passed, ignoring the pain in my hands as I was jerked skyward, and let the Cyclops lift me into the air. At the top of the arc I let go and fell straight against the giant's face—landing with both feet on his already damaged eye.**

**Polyphemus yowled in pain. Tyson tackled him, pulling him down. I landed next to them—sword in hand, within striking distance of the monster's heart. But I locked eyes with Tyson, and I knew I couldn't do it. It just wasn't right.**

"Oh sure," said Luke, "you can kill lots of other monsters, but you can't kill a defenseless Cyclops?"

"I couldn't," said Percy, "Cyclops remind me of Tyson, that's why. Plus, they're the children of Poseidon as well, so I'd be killing my own half-brothers, in a way."

**"Let him go," I told Tyson. "Run."**

**With one last mighty effort, Tyson pushed the cursing older Cyclops away, and we ran for the surf.**

**"I will smash you.'" Polyphemus yelled, doubling over in pain. His enormous hands cupped over his eye.**

**Tyson and I plunged into the waves.**

**"Where are you?" Polyphemus screamed. He picked up his tree club and threw it into the water. It splashed off to our right.**

**I summoned up a current to carry us, and we started gaining speed. I was beginning to think we might make it to the ship, when Clarisse shouted from the deck, "Yeah, Jackson! In your face, Cyclops!"**

"When is she going to shut up?" asked Piper

"She won't shut it until we go down with the ship," said Percy

_**Shut up,**___**I wanted to yell.**

**"Rarrr!" Polyphemus picked up a boulder. He threw it toward the sound of Clarisse's voice, but it fell short, narrowly missing Tyson and me.**

**"Yeah, yeah!" Clarisse taunted. "You throw like a wimp! Teach you to try marrying me, you idiot!"**

**"Clarisse!" I yelled, unable to stand it. "Shut up!"**

**Too late. Polyphemus threw another boulder, and this time I watched helplessly as it sailed over my head and crashed through the hull of the**_**Queen Anne's Revenge.**_

"Please tell me that everyone made it out okay," said Poseidon

"Don't worry, dad," said Percy, "we did."

**You wouldn't believe how fast a ship can sink. The**_**Queen Anne's Revenge**___**creaked and groaned and listed forward like it was going down a playground slide.**

**I cursed, willing the sea to push us faster, but the ship's masts were already going under.**

**"Dive!" I told Tyson. And as another rock sailed over our heads, we plunged underwater.**

**My friends were sinking fast, trying to swim, without luck, in the bubbly trail of the ship's wreckage.**

"It's hard to swim away from a sinking ship," said Annabeth

"Yeah," said AJ, "it is."

**Not many people realize that when a ship goes down, it acts like a sinkhole, pulling down everything around it.**

**Clarisse was a strong swimmer, but even she wasn't making any progress. Grover frantically kicked with his hooves. Annabeth was hanging on to the Fleece, which flashed in the water like a wave of new pennies.**

Some snickers flew through the throne room at the statement.

**I swam toward them, knowing that I might not have the strength to pull my friends out. Worse, pieces of timber were swirling around them; none of my power with water would help if I got whacked on the head by a beam.**

_**We need help,**___**I thought.**

_**Yes.**___**Tyson's voice, loud and clear in my head.**

**I looked over at him, startled. I'd heard Nereids and other water spirits speak to me underwater before, but it never occurred to me ... Tyson was a son of Poseidon. We could communicate with each other.**

"That is so cool!" said Leo

"Do you like talk with your mouths or is it more of a telepathic communication?" asked Piper

"It's more telepathic," said Percy

_**Rainbow,**___**Tyson said.**

**I nodded, then closed my eyes and concentrated, adding my voice to Tyson's:**_**RAINBOW! We need you!**_

"I bet Rainbow already went home," said LJ

**Immediately, shapes shimmered in the darkness below—three horses with fish tails, galloping upward faster than dolphins. Rainbow and his friends glanced in our direction and seemed to read our thoughts. They whisked into the wreckage, and a moment later burst upward in a cloud of bubbles—Grover, Annabeth, and Clarisse each clinging to the neck of a hippocampus.**

"Thank gods Rainbow was nearby," said Annabeth

"Besides," said Percy, while glaring at LJ, "I'm sure Rainbow wanted to play more with Tyson."

**Rainbow, the largest, had Clarisse. He raced over to us and allowed Tyson to grab hold of his mane. His friend who bore Annabeth did the same for me.**

**We broke the surface of the water and raced away from Polyphemus's island. Behind us, I could hear the Cyclops roaring in triumph, "I did it! I finally sank Nobody!"**

"Good for you," said Percy, "now it's tied 0-0."

Everyone laughed

**I hoped he never found out he was wrong.**

**We skimmed across the sea as the island shrank to a dot and then disappeared.**

**"Did it," Annabeth muttered in exhaustion. "We …"**

**She slumped against the neck of the hippocampus and instantly fell asleep.**

"That was quick," said Jason

"I was wiped out," said Annabeth, "and the hippocampi were comfy."

**I didn't know how far the hippocampi could take us. I didn't know where we were going. I just propped up Annabeth so she wouldn't fall off, covered her in the Golden Fleece that we'd been through so much to get, and said a silent prayer of thanks.**

**Which reminded me ... I still owed the gods a debt.**

"So he did remember," said Thalia

"I only told her while she was designing," said Percy, "because I wasn't sure if I did or not."

**"You're a genius," I told Annabeth quietly.**

**Then I put my head against the Fleece, and before I knew it, I was asleep, too.**

"Now," said Athena, "I think it's time for lunch, don't you?"

"I'll cook," said Sally

"I'll help, Sally," volunteered Annabeth and Percy, and so did their younger forms, Thalia, Nico, and Paul.


	22. Chapter 22

Before anyone could even so much as move towards the exit, the cry of Thalia filled the room, "WAIT!"

Everyone turned to her, and she said, "What about our team duel?"

"Oh, yes," said Athena, "the one that's supposed to fill the duel that was originally going to be Percy and LJ. We'll do it right now, if it's all right with everyone."

"You know," said Sally, "since everyone's going to lunch after this, why don't I start preparing everyone's lunches right now, so that the kids can eat as soon as they're done?"

"Please mom?" asked Percy

"Why are you thinking of food at a time like this?" asked Piper

"Boys always think about food," said Annabeth, rolling her eyes.

"No," said Percy, "not always. Only when my tummy's hungry. Otherwise, I'd be thinking about you."

Annabeth blushed, as Thalia and Nico snickered.

"Oh, come on," said Percy, "calling it 'tummy' is better than naming it."

"Hey!" cried Thalia and Nico indignantly.

"We weren't snickering because of that," said Thalia, "and don't talk about Sally that way."

"Kumquat doesn't like being talked about in that way either," said Nico

"I have the weirdest friends," said Annabeth, shaking her head

"HA!" cried Thalia, "Waterboy's weird."

"Actually, I don't fall in the category of friends anymore," said Percy, "since I am dating her, hence her boyfriend, hence not a friend."

"Technicalities," waved off Thalia

"Are we going to start this or not?" asked Luke

Percy, Thalia, and Nico apologized as everyone (except for Sally, who was making her way to the kitchen) made their way to the dueling arena. Once they arrived, Nico listed off the teams.

The ten demigods made their way to their section of the arena. Thalia's section had a forest on the end away from Percy's team and a barren clearing on the end closer to Percy's team. Percy's section had a beach on the side closer to Thalia's team and a pond behind the beach.

As soon as everyone watching were sitting in the stands and the ten demigods fighting were ready, Nico went to the middle of the field with a microphone.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" said Nico, "Boys and Girls! Gods and Goddesses! Welcome to the first ever team fight. One side is Team Rare Lightning Power, consisting of Thalia and Jason Grace, younger Luke Castellan, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez, the Pervert in disguise. (Insert indignant complaining from Leo and a slap from Piper here) On the other side is Team Wise Wave Thieves consisting of 16 year-old Percy Jackson, 16 year-old Annabeth Chase, 10 year-old Percy Jackson, 10 year-old Annabeth Chase, and the older Luke Castellan. The rules of the duel are as follows: 1) No maiming; 2) No killing; 3) If you get out of the arena somehow, you are out of the duel; 4) No strikes from behind; 5) Once you lose a duel with someone, you are out; 6) Whichever team has the last person standing is the winner of the duel; 7) No one can fight more than one other person, unless there are only three people left; 8) Leo Valdez is a pervert in disguise no matter what he says. Now begin!"

Once Nico started the duel, he ran towards the wall in front of him and disappeared into the shadows only to reappear near his father. After this, everyone started. Luke took on Leo, Annabeth took on Thalia, AJ took on LJ, Percy took on Jason, and PJ took on Piper. The gods watched their children fight with such intensity and determination, they weren't sure whether this is a duel-to-the-death or not.

Within 10 minutes, Luke, LJ, PJ, Piper, AJ, Thalia, and Leo were out of the duel, and only Jason, Percy, and Annabeth were remaining. The gods noticed that as soon as only Percy and Annabeth had remained, Thalia had stopped cheering for her team.

"How come you're not cheering for Jason?" asked Piper

"There's no point," said Thalia, "he's against the deadliest pair in battle. He's going to lose, no doubt about it. "

"How can you be so sure?" asked Piper

"They're practically one person when it comes to fighting," said Thalia, "Annabeth's the brain and Percy's the brawn most of the time. It's the perfect combination; no one can beat them."

"You're so sure about that," said LC, "I still think that Jason's going to win, even if Jackson's a good fighter."

"My money's on Percy and Annabeth," said Luke

"You want to make it a bet?" asked LC, "20 drachmas Jason wins."

"Fine," said Luke, shaking LC's hand.

They turned their attention back to the duel. Jason was flying around shooting lightning bolts at Percy, who was dodging them while standing on the lake and shooting icicle spears at Jason. Annabeth, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Annabeth?" asked Paul

"She has her invisibility cap on," said Thalia

Suddenly, one of Percy's icicle spears hit Jason, causing him to fall to the ground. He was about to hit the ground, when Percy made a slide out of ice to slow down his descent and caused Jason to side to a stop as he laid down on the ground. He tried to get up, but somehow he couldn't Percy simply walked over and looked like he took Annabeth's hat off her. Everyone gasped as Annabeth stood there, with one foot on Jason's chest.

"You win," said Jason

Annabeth removed her foot, and she and Percy helped Jason up. They shook hands, and those who fought also shook hands; those who didn't congratulated the victors and tried to make the losers feel better. Once everyone finished, they made their way to the kitchen, where Sally was just finishing up setting the deserts on the table.

When she noticed everyone coming in, she looked up and smiled, "What took you guys so long? I thought Percy and Annabeth would have beaten everyone twenty minutes ago."

"Jason was a tougher challenge than we thought," said Percy, kissing his mom on the cheek before sitting down, "plus there was the challenge of getting him down from flying."

"I am the son of Jupiter," said Jason, sitting down as well, "What do you expect?"

"Well, Thalia doesn't fly," said Percy, "so I didn't really have to deal with it before."

"You were awesome Percy," said AJ, giving PJ a high five

PJ blushed and said, "You were better."

Now it was AJ's turn to blush, as she said, "We both were great, how about that?"

"Deal," said PJ, before they both took their seats next to each other, and started eating.

**A/N Hey, guess what? My school is finally over. Now I can update faster, though around the 30th, I won't be able to update as much because I have something going on and I know I won't be able to access the computer as much. OTher than that, I should be fine, though I may update slower at times due to things going on in my life (yes I have a life, even if Leo the pervert says otherwise), so be warned**


	23. Chapter 23

"Wow, I was wrong," said LJ as everyone entered the throne room, "Percy and Annabeth are a good team."

"You bet they are," said Thalia

"There's no one they can't beat," said Nico, "especially when the other is in trouble or they're working together, than the two are impossible to beat."

"Half the time we did all that we did, we had help, you know," said Percy

"But you two were the only ones who are able to do it," said Thalia, "with the least amount of arguing, yelling, and all that other stuff."

"They're the best Camp Half-Blood has to offer," said Nico, causing Percy, PJ, Annabeth, and AJ to blush

"I don't know about the best," said Percy

"Oh, quit you're whining," said Luke, "you two were able to defeat the Time Titan together."

"Well, you killed him," said Percy

"More like sacrificed myself to," snorted Luke, "besides, I wouldn't have been able to do it if you two weren't there to help me."

"Can we get back to reading?" asked Dionysus, "I want to finish this sooner so i can be closer to drinking wine again."

**We Get a Surprise on Miami Beach**

"What kind of surprise?" asked Apollo

"Is it a surprise birthday party?" asked Hermes

"Not telling you," said Percy

"And no," said Annabeth, "it's not a surprise birthday party."

**"Percy, wake up." Salt water splashed my face. Annabeth was shaking my shoulder.**

"Best wake up call for you, huh Perce?" asked Nico, waggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up," said Percy, blushing, along with Annabeth, PJ, and AJ

**In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. I could see a beachside highway lined with palm trees, store fronts glowing with red and blue neon, a harbor filled with sailboats and cruise ships.**

**"Miami, I think," Annabeth said. "But the hippocampi are acting funny."**

"Acting funny how?" asked Jason

**Sure enough, our fishy friends had slowed down and were whinnying and swimming in circles, sniffing the water. They didn't look happy. One of them sneezed. I could tell what they were thinking.**

"What can't you do?" asked Leo, excitedly

"I can't make cookies the way my mom does," said Percy, causing everyone to laugh

**"This is as far as they'll take us," I said. "Too many humans. Too much pollution. We'll have to swim to shore on our own."**

"There really is too much pollution in the world," said Piper

**None of us was very psyched about that, but we thanked Rainbow and his friends for the ride. Tyson cried a little. He unfastened the makeshift saddle pack he'd made, which contained his tool kit and a couple of other things he'd salvaged from the**_**Birmingham**_**wreck. He hugged Rainbow around the neck, gave him a soggy mango he'd picked up on the island, and said good-bye.**

"There really were mangos on Polyphemus's island?" asked Leo

"Apparently," shrugged Percy

"Then how did the Cyclopes not know what a mango is?" asked PJ

"Well," said Annabeth, "he was an idiot."

**Once the hippocampi's white manes disappeared into the sea, we swam for shore. The waves pushed us forward, and in no time we were back in the mortal world. We wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for vacations. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish and tried to cut in line for customers.**

"Spanish?" asked Leo, "I haven't been to Miami, but I'm pretty sure that it's in America."

"Some states in America have been influenced by other cultures," said Athena, "like how the South and Southwest, especially California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Florida."

"Oh, okay," said Leo, before whispering, "I'm even more confused now."

**If anybody noticed us—five kids dripping wet and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster—they didn't let on.**

**Now that we were back among mortals, Tyson's single eye had blurred from the Mist.** **Grover had put on his cap and sneakers. Even the Fleece had transformed from a sheepskin to a red-and-gold high school letter jacket with a large glittery Omega on the pocket.**

"Gotta love the Mist at times like this," said Percy

**Annabeth ran to the nearest newspaper box and checked the date on the**_**Miami Herald.**___**She cursed. "June eighteenth! We've been away from camp ten days!"**

**"That's impossible!" Clarisse said.**

**But I knew it wasn't. Time traveled differently in monstrous places.**

"It does?" asked PJ

"I guess it makes sense," said AJ, "I mean, monstrous places don't have any attachment to the mortal world, so they don't need to follow normal times."

**"Thalia's tree must be almost dead," Grover wailed. "We have to get the Fleece back**_**tonight."**_

**Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. "How are we supposed to do that?" Her voice trembled. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said. It's**_**your**___**fault, Jackson! If you hadn't interfered—"**

"I don't think Annabeth's going to like that," said Nico

Annabeth blushed, as Percy said, "You have no idea."

**"Percy's fault?" Annabeth exploded. "Clarisse, how can you say that? You are the biggest—"**

"Wow, Annabeth," said Thalia, "I didn't you'd be able to do that so early in yours and Percy's relationship."

"Shut up," blushed Annabeth

**"Stop it!" I said.**

**Clarisse put her head in hands. Annabeth stomped her foot in frustration.**

**The thing was: I'd almost forgotten this quest was supposed to be Clarisse's. For a scary moment, I saw things from her point of view. How would I feel if a bunch of other heroes had butted in and made me look bad?**

"That makes sense," said Jason

**I thought about what I'd overheard in the boiler room of the CSS**_**Birmingham**_**—**

**Ares yelling at Clarisse, warning her that she'd better not fail. Ares couldn't care less about the camp, but if Clarisse made him look bad ...**

**"Clarisse," I said, "what did the Oracle tell you exactly?"**

**She looked up. I thought she was going to tell me off, but instead she took a deep breath and recited her prophecy:**

_**"You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,**_

_**You shall find what you seek and make it your own,**_

_**But despair for your life entombed within stone,**_

_**And fail without friends, to fly home alone."**_

"That doesn't sound too good," said Piper

**"Ouch," Grover mumbled.**

**"No," I said. "No ... wait a minute. I've got it."**

"Percy actually figured something out without any help?" gasped Nico

"I have my moments," said Percy

"Yes you do," said Annabeth, pecking him on the cheek.

**I searched my pockets for money, and found nothing but a golden drachma. "Does anybody have any cash?"**

"Great," groaned PJ, "I get a plan, but no way of carrying it out."

**Annabeth and Grover shook their heads morosely. Clarisse pulled a wet Confederate dollar from her pocket and sighed.**

**"Cash?" Tyson asked hesitantly. "Like ... green paper?"**

"What's Tyson up to?" asked Athena

**I looked at him. "Yeah."**

**"Like the kind in duffel bags?"**

**"Yeah, but we lost those bags days a-g-g—"**

**I stuttered to a halt as Tyson rummaged in his saddle pack and pulled out the Ziploc bag full of cash that Hermes had included in our supplies.**

"How did he—?" asked Piper, but was cut off by Percy saying, "You'll see."

**"Tyson!" I said. "How did you—"**

**"Thought it was a feed bag for Rainbow,"** **he said. "Found it floating in sea, but only paper inside. Sorry."**

"Of course," said Nico, "he's always looking out for others, just like Percy."

"If I didn't know any better," said Luke, "I'd say he takes after Percy."

"But I think we all know that Tyson and Percy take after their father," said Thalia

"Guilty as charged," said Poseidon

**He handed me the cash. Fives and tens, at least three hundred dollars.**

**I ran to the curb and grabbed a taxi that was just letting out a family of cruise passengers. "Clarisse," I yelled. "Come on. You're going to the airport. Annabeth, give her the Fleece."**

"How is that going to help?" asked Leo, confused

"We're going to send Clarisse ahead of us," said Percy, "that way, it fulfills the prophecy and gets the Fleece to camp in time."

**I'm not sure which of them looked more stunned as I took the Fleece letter jacket from Annabeth, tucked the cash into its pocket, and put it in Clarisse's arms.**

**Clarisse said, "You'd let me—"**

"Yes, he'd let you," said Annabeth, smiling

"He's too nice to care about getting recognition," said Nico

**"It's your quest," I said. "We only have enough money for one flight. Besides, I can't travel by air. Zeus would blast me into a million pieces. That's what the prophecy meant: you'd fail without friends, meaning you'd need our help, but you'd have to fly home alone. You have to get the Fleece back safely."**

"So Clarisse had to take it home," said Thalia, "all because Dad doesn't know how to tolerate the children of his brothers."

Thalia glared at her father, who was having trouble ignoring the gesture.

**I could see her mind working—suspicious at first, wondering what trick I was playing, then finally deciding I meant what I said.**

**She jumped in the cab. "You can count on me. I won't fail."**

"She better not," grumbled Zeus

"She doesn't," said Thalia

**"Not failing would be good."**

**The cab peeled out in a cloud of exhaust. The Fleece was on its way.**

**"Percy," Annabeth said, "that was so—"**

"Generous?" asked Jason

"Insane," said Annabeth, shaking her head

**"Generous?" Grover offered.**

_**"Insane,"**___**Annabeth corrected. "You're betting the lives of everybody at camp that Clarisse will get the Fleece safely back by tonight?"**

**"It's her quest," I said. "She deserves a chance."**

"That was nice of you," said Piper

"Too nice," said Annabeth

**"Percy is nice," Tyson said.**

**"Percy is**_**too**___**nice," Annabeth grumbled, but I couldn't help thinking that maybe, just maybe, she was a little impressed. I'd surprised her, anyway. And that wasn't easy to do.**

"You actually did," said Annabeth

"And you can bet my silver bow that she's not easily impressed," said Thalia

"Unlike Mr. Pervert Flame here," said Piper, "who gets impressed by the fact that Y comes before Z."

"Hey," said Leo, "I was on the run a lot, so you can't expect me to know my alphabet right."

"Leo," said Piper, "you ran away when you were 8. You should have learned the alphabet by then."

"Yeah, see," said Leo, "I didn't really pay attention to whoever tried to teach me stuff, so I didn't really learn it."

"Typical Leo," said Piper, shaking her head.

**"Come on," I told my friends. "Let's find another way home."**

**That's when I turned and found a sword's point at my throat.**

"Oh boy," said Luke, "I still can't express how sorry I am to you guys."

"It's fine Luke," said Percy, "you meant it in good heart."

**"Hey, cuz," said Luke. "Welcome back to the States."**

**His bear-man thugs appeared on either of side of us. One grabbed Annabeth and Grover by their T-shirt collars. The other tried to grab Tyson, but Tyson knocked him into a pile of luggage and roared at Luke.**

**"Percy," Luke said calmly, "tell your giant to back down or I'll have Oreius bash your friends' heads together."**

"He's not a giant," said PJ, "he's a Cyclops."

"I know," said Luke and LJ simultaneously

"I just didn't like Percy at the time," explained Luke, sadly, "or Cyclops."

**Oreius grinned and raised Annabeth and Grover off the ground, kicking and screaming.**

**"What do you want, Luke?" I growled.**

**He smiled, the scar rippling on the side of his face. He gestured toward the end of the dock, and I noticed what should've been obvious.**

"I get that Percy didn't notice it," said Thalia, "but how did you and Grover not miss it?"

"We were occupied with fulfilling the prophecy," said Annabeth

"Besides," said Luke, "we had just arrived when he turned around."

**The biggest boat in port was the**_**Princess Andromeda.**_

**"Why, Percy," Luke said, "I want to extend my hospitality, of course."**

"Hospitality by butt," said Percy

"Yeah," said Luke, "it wasn't going to be what you'd expect."

**The bear twins herded us aboard the**_**Princess Andromeda.**___**They threw us down on the aft deck in front of a swimming pool with sparkling fountains that sprayed into the air.**

**A dozen of Luke's assorted goons—snake people, Laistrygonians, demigods in battle armor—had gathered to watch us get some "hospitality."**

**"And so, the Fleece," Luke mused. "Where is it?" He looked us over, prodding my shirt with the tip of his sword, poking Grover's jeans.**

**"Hey!" Grover yelled. "That's real goat fur under there!"**

"And some more," said Leo, waggling his eyebrows.

"We don't want to know what you prefer Leo," said Piper, scotching away from him

"You're not going to impress girls if you make jokes like that," said Thaila, disgusted, "or any jokes at all."

**"Sorry, old friend." Luke smiled. "Just give me the Fleece and I'll leave you to return to your, ah, little nature quest."**

**"Blaa-ha-ha!" Grover protested. "Some old friend!"**

"Exactly," said Percy, Annabeth, AJ, and PJ

**"Maybe you didn't hear me." Luke's voice was dangerously calm. "Where—is—the—Fleece?"**

**"Not here," I said. I probably shouldn't have told him anything, but it felt good to throw the truth in his face. "We sent it on ahead of us. You messed up."**

**Luke's eyes narrowed. "You're lying. You couldn't have ..." His face reddened as a horrible possibility occurred to him. "Clarisse?"**

"Before anyone asks," said Luke, "I didn't notice because I didn't think Percy would give it to Clarisse, given their relationship at the time."

**I nodded.**

**"You trusted ... you gave ..."**

**"Yeah."**

**"Agrius!"**

**The bear giant flinched. "Y-yes?"**

**"Get below and prepare my steed. Bring it to the deck. I need to fly to the Miami Airport, fast.'"**

**"But, boss—"**

**"Do it!" Luke screamed. "Or I'll feed you to the drakon!"**

"Nice way to treat those under you," grumbled Thalia

"I just didn't want to get the Time Titan upset," said Luke

"What do you mean?" asked LJ, "that's a perfect way to treat monsters."

**The bear-man gulped and lumbered down the stairs. Luke paced in front of the swimming pool, cursing in Ancient Greek, gripping his sword so tight his knuckles turned white.**

**The rest of Luke's crew looked uneasy. Maybe they'd never seen their boss so unhinged before.**

**I started thinking ... If I could use Luke's anger, get him to talk so everybody could hear how crazy his plans were ...**

"That was a nice plan you got there," said Luke

"Thanks," said Percy

"What plan?" asked LJ

**I looked at the swimming pool, at the fountains spraying mist into the air, making a rainbow in the sunset. And suddenly I had an idea.**

**"You've been toying with us all along," I said. "You wanted us to bring you the Fleece and save you the trouble of getting it."**

"That would be better than going on the quest yourself and risking death," said Athena, "but Poseidon and his children are too unpredictable to rely on."

**Luke scowled. "Of course, you idiot! And you've messed everything up!"**

**"Traitor!" I dug my last gold drachma out of my pocket and threw it at Luke. As I expected, he dodged it easily.**

"I didn't get why you threw that until later on," said Luke

**The coin sailed into the spray of rainbow-colored water.**

**I hoped my prayer would be accepted in silence. I thought with all my heart:**_**O goddess, accept my offering.**_

**"You tricked all of us!" I yelled at Luke. "Even DIONYSUS at CAMP HALF-BLOOD!"**

"That is a good idea," said Athena, "that way, you can get Chiron back to camp and get rid of that terrible Tantalus."

**Behind Luke, the fountain began to shimmer, but I needed everyone's attention on me, so I uncapped Riptide.**

**Luke just sneered. "This is no time for heroics, Percy. Drop your puny little sword, or I'll have you killed sooner rather than later."**

"I didn't really want to kill you," said Luke, "but the Time Titan made me."

"I want to kill him," said LJ

"Good luck with that," snorted Thalia

**"Who poisoned Thalia's tree, Luke?"**

**"I did, of course," he snarled. "I already told you that. I used elder python venom, straight from the depths of Tartarus."**

**"Chiron had nothing to do with it?"**

**"Ha! You know he would never do that. The old fool wouldn't have the guts."**

"He doesn't need guts if he has brains," said Nico

"I know," said Luke

"I know Flame boy here doesn't have any brains," said Piper, "or he'd know the alphabet."

"Will you get over that?" asked Leo

"Nope," said Jason, "if she doesn't do it, I will."

**"You call it guts? Betraying your friends? Endangering the whole camp?"**

**Luke raised his sword. "You don't understand the half of it. I was going to let you take the Fleece ... once I was done with it."**

"What were you going to do with it?" asked Athena

"Raise the Time Titan," said Luke, "thank gods Clarisse took it."

**That made me hesitate. Why would he let me take the Fleece? He must've been lying. But I couldn't afford to lose his attention.**

**"You were going to heal Kronos," I said.**

**"Yes! The Fleece's magic would've sped his mending process by tenfold. But you haven't stopped us, Percy. You've only slowed us down a little."**

"But that time we've gained is valuable," said Athena, "we could use it to combat the Time Titan."

**"And so you poisoned the tree, you betrayed Thalia, you set us up—all to help Kronos destroy the gods."**

**Luke gritted his teeth. "You know that! Why do you keep asking me?"**

"It was getting annoying," said Luke

**"Because I want everybody in the audience to hear you."**

**"**_**What**___**audience?"**

"We were all surprised," said Annabeth, "not just you Luke."

"No doubt the camp was surprised as well," said Thalia

**Then his eyes narrowed. He looked behind him and his goons did the same. They gasped and stumbled back.**

**Above the pool, shimmering in the rainbow mist, was an Iris-message vision of Dionysus, Tantalus, and the whole camp in the dining pavilion. They sat in stunned silence, watching us.**

**"Well," said Dionysus dryly, "some unplanned dinner entertainment."**

"Entertainment?" asked Poseidon

"What would you call that then?" asked Dionysus

**"Mr. D, you heard him," I said. "You all heard Luke. The poisoning of the tree wasn't Chiron's fault."**

**Mr. D sighed. "I suppose not."**

**"The Iris-message could be a trick," Tantalus suggested, but his attention was mostly on his cheeseburger, which he was trying to corner with both hands.**

"I'm afraid," said Poseidon, "that Iris doesn't help with prank or fake Iris-messages."

**"I fear not," Mr. D said, looking with distaste at Tantalus. "It appears I shall have to reinstate Chiron as activities director. I suppose I do miss the old horse's pinochle games."**

"Really D?" asked Apollo, "You only want Chiron back for his pinochle games even if you do always lose?"

"Well, I'm sure there's another reason I don't want to reveal," said Dionysus

**Tantalus grabbed the cheeseburger. It didn't bolt away from him. He lifted it from the plate and stared at it in amazement, as if it were the largest diamond in the world. "I got it!" he cackled.**

"He finally got food?" asked Piper, disbelievingly

"If he did," said Dionysus, "I'm not going to let him take a bite."

**"We are no longer in need of your services, Tantalus," Mr. D announced.**

**Tantalus looked stunned. "What? But—"**

"But nothing!" grumbled Zeus

**"You may return to the Underworld. You are dismissed."**

**"No! But—**

"BUT NOTHING!" roared Zeus

"Anger issues much?" whispered Percy to Annabeth and PJ to AJ. Annabeth smiled, while AJ snickered.

**Nooooooooooo!"**

**As he dissolved into mist, his fingers clutched at the cheeseburger, trying to bring it to his mouth. But it was too late. He disappeared and the cheeseburger fell back onto its plate. The campers exploded into cheering.**

"Of course they would," said Annabeth, "That guy was terrible."

**Same as they were now. Although they were also laughing.**

**Luke bellowed with rage. He slashed his sword through the fountain and the Iris-message dissolved, but the deed was done.**

**I was feeling pretty good about myself, until Luke turned and gave me a murderous look.**

"I really got angry at that," said Luke

"Don't worry," said Percy, "no one likes to be a tool."

**"Kronos was right, Percy. You're an unreliable weapon. You need to be replaced."**

"Was that one of the reasons why you wanted to the Fleece?" asked Thalia

"No," said Luke, "that was the reason the Time Titan wanted the Fleece. I just wanted my friend back."

**I wasn't sure what he meant, but I didn't have time to think about it. One of his men blew a brass whistle, and the deck doors flew open. A dozen more warriors poured out, making a circle around us, the brass tips of their spears bristling.**

**Luke smiled at me. "You'll never leave this boat alive."**

"I beg to differ," said Percy

"Differ all you want," said LJ, "you're outnumbered."

"That really won't make a difference," said Luke, "especially with Percy and Annabeth both there."


	24. Chapter 24

"This chapter's going to get a bit crazy," said Annabeth

"How so?" asked Hermes

"Is it some mortal going crazy?" asked Dionysus, "Because I only help you demigods, and that's only if I feel like it."

"Don't worry, Mr. D," said Percy, "you won't have to be curing anybody."

"Good," said Dionysus

**The Party Ponies Invade**

Suddenly, most of the members in the throne room had a sudden realization.

"I'm guessing the Party Ponies," said PJ, "are centaurs that like to party, right?"

"Yeah," said Thalia

"Then why call themselves Party Ponies?" asked PJ

"Because of the Mist," said AJ, "if the Party Ponies called themselves something else, like the Celebrating Centaurs or something, it'd be more obvious that they're part of the Greek world than if they called themselves the Party Ponies."

"Oh, okay," said PJ, "that makes sense, I guess."

**"One on one," I challenged Luke. "What are you afraid of?"**

**Luke curled his lip. The soldiers who were about to kill us hesitated, waiting for his order.**

**Before he could say anything, Agrius, the bear-man, burst onto the deck leading a flying horse. It was the first pure-black pegasus I'd ever seen, with wings like a giant raven.**

"Blackjack," said those who knew the Pegasus

"Wait," said Piper, "that's the Pegasus in the stables that doesn't let anyone approach except for Annabeth?"

"Yup," said Percy, "and as for not letting anyone approach, he's under specific instructions by me."

"Why would you do that?" asked Jason

"Well, I guess it was because Rachael rode Blackjack without my permission," said Percy, "just to get to camp. Ever since, I told him that if I'm not where he can find me for more than a day or so, than to not let anyone except for Annabeth approach."

"Why just Annabeth?" asked Thalia, "Why not Nico, or better yet, me?"

"Easy," said Annabeth, "because I'm the one who spends the most time with him, and besides, you're always with the Hunt, and Nico's off doing whatever he does, so it makes sense that I'd be the only one who'd be able to approach his Pegasus."

"Wasn't Blackjack the one who you brought when you came to pick us up?" asked Jason

"Yeah," said Annabeth, "he only comes out of the stables when I ask him to."

"So, if Percy was at camp…," trailed Piper

"Then he'd only let me and Annabeth do anything with him," said Percy

**The pegasus mare bucked and whinnied. I could understand her thoughts. She was calling Agrius and Luke some names so bad Chiron would've washed her muzzle out with saddle soap.**

"I thought Blackjack was a boy," said Annabeth

"So I made a mistake when I first met him," said Percy, "sue me."

**"Sir!" Agrius called, dodging a pegasus hoof. "Your steed is ready!"**

**Luke kept his eyes on me.** **"I told you last summer, Percy," he said. "You can't bait me into a fight."**

"And I was wrong," said Luke

"What do you mean?" asked LJ, but was answered by silence.

**"And you keep avoiding one," I noticed. "Scared your warriors will see you get whipped?"**

"That's how I proved Luke wrong," said Percy, smiling smugly as LJ sneered at him.

**Luke glanced at his men, and he saw I'd trapped him. If he backed down now, he would look weak. If he fought me, he'd lose valuable time chasing after Clarisse.**

"It's a difficult place to be," said Athena, "especially for those whose fatal flaw is the need to impress others."

**For my part, the best I could hope for was to distract him, giving my friends a chance to escape. If anybody could think of a plan to get them out of there, Annabeth could. On the down side, I knew how good Luke was at sword-fighting.**

"I may be good," said Luke, "but you're a better swordfighter."

"That may be true now," said Percy, "but back then, it probably wasn't."

"Nah," said Annabeth, "you were still the better swordfighter back then."

**"I'll kill you quickly," he decided, and raised his weapon. Backbiter was a foot longer than my own sword. Its blade glinted with an evil gray-and-gold light where the human steel had been melded with celestial bronze. I could almost feel the blade fighting against itself, like two opposing magnets bound together. I didn't know how the blade had been made, but I sensed a tragedy. Someone had died in the process.**

"Someone did," said Luke

**Luke whistled to one of his men, who threw him a round leather-and-bronze shield.**

**He grinned at me wickedly.**

**"Luke," Annabeth said, "at least give him a shield."**

**"Sorry, Annabeth," he said. "You bring your own equipment to this party."**

"That's a stupid rule," said Thalia

"Besides," said Nico, "you got the shield from one of your men."

"Yeah, I know it wasn't fair," said Luke, "sorry about that."

**The shield was a problem. Fighting two-handed with just a sword gives you more power, but fighting one-handed with a shield gives you better defense and versatility.**

"He's right," said Athena

"No way that's true," said Ares, "if it is, then that may be why everyone beats me even though I can overpower everyone."

"Power isn't everything," said Percy

**There are more moves, more options, more ways to kill. I thought back to Chiron, who'd told me to stay at camp no matter what, and learn to fight. Now I was going to pay for not listening to him.**

"But you didn't," said Annabeth, "and that's all that matters in the end."

**Luke lunged and almost killed me on the first try. His sword went under my arm, slashing through my shirt and grazing my ribs.**

**I jumped back, then counterattacked with Riptide, but Luke slammed my blade away with his shield.**

**"My, Percy," Luke chided. "You're out of practice."**

**He came at me again with a swipe to the head. I parried, returned with a thrust. He sidestepped easily.**

**The cut on my ribs stung. My heart was racing. When Luke lunged again, I jumped backward into the swimming pool and felt a surge of strength.**

**I spun underwater, creating a funnel cloud, and blasted out of the deep end, straight at Luke's face.**

"That must have hurt," said PJ

"That hurt a bit," said Luke

"Sorry," said Percy

**The force of the water knocked him down, spluttering and blinded. But before I could strike, he rolled aside and was on his feet again.**

**I attacked and sliced off the edge of his shield, but that didn't even faze him. He dropped to a crouch and jabbed at my legs. Suddenly my thigh was on fire, with a pain so intense I collapsed. My jeans were ripped above the knee. I was hurt. I didn't know how badly. Luke hacked downward and I rolled behind a deck chair. I tried to stand, but my leg wouldn't take the weight.**

**"Perrrrrcy!" Grover bleated.**

**I rolled again as Luke's sword slashed the deck chair in half, metal pipes and all.**

**I clawed toward the swimming pool, trying hard not to black out. I'd never make it.**

**Luke knew it, too. He advanced slowly, smiling. The edge of his sword was tinged with red.**

**"One thing I want you to watch before you die, Percy." He looked at the bear-man Oreius, who was still holding Annabeth and Grover by the necks. "You can eat your dinner now, Oreius. Bon appetit."**

"Are you serious?" asked AJ

"You're just going to feed Annabeth and Grover to your over-sized barren-headed twins?" asked PJ

"Look," said Luke, "I really am sorry for everything I did. I wouldn't be surprised if I do somehow get hurt for all that I did."

**"He-he! He-he!" The bear-man lifted my friends and bared his teeth.**

**That's when all Hades broke loose.**

"I really don't appreciate using my name as slang," said Hades

"Sorry, Lord Hades," said Percy, "but I meant Hades as in the Underworld, not it's ruler."

_**Whish!**_

**A red-feathered arrow sprouted from Oreius's mouth. With a surprised look on his hairy face, he crumpled to the deck.**

**"Brother!" Agrius wailed. He let the pegasus's reins go slack just long enough for the black steed to kick him in the head and fly away free over Miami Bay.**

"So that's how he escaped," said Thalia, "but that doesn't explain how he ended up being your Pegasus."

"You'll find out eventually," said Percy

**For a split second, Luke's guards were too stunned to do anything except watch the bear twins' bodies dissolve into smoke.**

**Then there was a wild chorus of war cries and hooves thundering against metal. A dozen centaurs charged out of the main stairwell.**

**"Ponies!" Tyson cried with delight.**

"You just gotta love Tyson," squealed Aphrodite, "he's just so adorable."

"Yeah he is," said Percy, "sometimes he acts so childish, you get surprised when he says something smart."

**My mind had trouble processing everything I saw. Chiron was among the crowd, but his relatives were almost nothing like him. There were centaurs with black Arabian stallion bodies, others with gold palomino coats, others with orange-and-white spots like paint horses.**

**Some wore brightly colored T-shirts with Day-Glo letters that said PARTY PONIES: SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER. Some were armed with bows, some with baseball bats, some with paintball guns. One had his face painted like a Comanche warrior and was waving a large orange Styrofoam hand making a big Number I. Another was bare-chested and painted entirely green. A third had googly-eye glasses with the eyeballs bouncing around on Slinky coils, and one of those baseball caps with soda-can-and-straw attachments on either side.**

"These guys seem fun," said PJ, "are they the Party Ponies?"

"Yeah," said AJ, "and they may sound fun at first, but you have to be careful when they get drunk."

**They exploded onto the deck with such ferocity and color that for a moment even Luke was stunned. I couldn't tell whether they had come to celebrate or attack.**

"Both actually," said Apollo, "they can never decide when they're mobilizing for war."

**Apparently both. As Luke was raising his sword to rally his troops, a centaur shot a custom-made arrow with a leather boxing glove on the end. It smacked Luke in the face and sent him crashing into the swimming pool.**

"As hilarious as that sounds now," said Luke as everyone laughed (except for LJ, who was grumbling about how he hated those 'crazy centaurs'), "it really hurt."

**His warriors scattered. I couldn't blame them. Facing the hooves of a rearing stallion is scary enough, but when it's a centaur, armed with a bow and whooping it up in a soda-drinking hat, even the bravest warrior would retreat.**

"You make them sound scarier than they should be," said Nico

"Well you haven't seen what they can do in battle," said Percy

**"Come get some!" yelled one of the party ponies.**

**They let loose with their paintball guns. A wave of blue and yellow exploded against Luke's warriors, blinding them and splattering them from head to toe. They tried to run, only to slip and fall.**

**Chiron galloped toward Annabeth and Grover, neatly plucked them off the deck, and deposited them on his back.**

"I was somewhat surprised when that happened," said Annabeth

**I tried to get up, but my wounded leg still felt like it was on fire. Luke was crawling out of the pool.**

**"Attack, you fools.'" he ordered his troops. Somewhere down below deck, a large alarm bell thrummed. I knew any second we would be swamped by Luke's reinforcements. Already, his** **warriors were getting over their surprise, coming at the centaurs with swords and spears drawn.**

"That's not a good sign," said Nico

"It's not," said Luke

**Tyson slapped half a dozen of them aside, knocking them over the guardrail into Miami Bay. But more warriors were coming up the stairs.**

**"Withdraw, brethren!" Chiron said.**

**"You won't get away with this, horse man!" Luke shouted.**

"Really?" laughed Leo, "Horse man? There are way better insults like that, like pregnant pony or hay-filled horse."

"Leo, those are terrible insults," said Piper, slapping him on the head.

**He raised his sword, but got smacked in the face with another boxing glove arrow, and sat down hard in a deck chair.**

"Okay," laughed Luke, "I don't have an answer for that."

Everyone (except for LJ) laughed even harder as they heard this.

**A palomino centaur hoisted me onto his back. "Dude, get your big friend!"**

**"Tyson!" I yelled. "Come on!"**

**Tyson dropped the two warriors he was about to tie into a knot and jogged after us. He jumped on the centaur's back.**

**"Dude!" the centaur groaned, almost buckling under Tyson's weight. "Do the words 'low-carb diet' mean anything to you?"**

"No," said PJ, in all seriousness, "no it does not."

Everyone laughed as they saw his face

**Luke's warriors were organizing themselves into a phalanx. But by the time they were ready to advance, the centaurs had galloped to the edge of the deck and fearlessly jumped the guardrail, as if it were a steeplechase and not ten stories above the ground.**

"Ten stories?" asked Sally, "Please tell me you don't get critically hurt from that."

"Don't worry mom," said Percy, "I'm fine."

**I was sure we were going to die. We plummeted toward the docks, but the centaurs hit the asphalt with hardly a jolt and galloped off, whooping and yelling taunts at the**_**Princess Andromeda**___**as we raced into the streets of downtown Miami.**

**I have no idea what the Miamians thought as we galloped by.**

**Streets and buildings began to blur as the centaurs picked up speed. It felt as if space were compacting—as if each centaur step took us miles and miles. In no time, we'd left the city behind. We raced through marshy fields of high grass and ponds and stunted trees.**

**Finally, we found ourselves in a trailer park at the edge of a lake. The trailers were all horse trailers, tricked out with televisions and mini-refrigerators and mosquito netting.**

**We were in a centaur camp.**

"Wow," said Nico, "that was not what I was expecting for a centaur camp."

"I don't even want to know what you thought was a centaur camp," said Thalia, causing Nico to pout.

**"Dude!" said a party pony as he unloaded his gear. "Did you see that bear guy? He was all like: 'Whoa, I have an arrow in my mouth!'"**

**The centaur with the googly-eye glasses laughed. "That was awesome! Head slam!"**

**The two centaurs charged at each other full-force and knocked heads, then went staggering off in different directions with crazy grins on their faces.**

"Okay, never mind," said PJ, "I don't want to meet these guys anymore."

**Chiron sighed. He set Annabeth and Grover down on a picnic blanket next to me. "I really wish my cousins wouldn't slam their heads together. They don't have the brain cells to spare."**

"You bet they don't," said Athena

"But that's what makes them so fun," said Apollo, with Hermes and Dionysus nodding.

"Apollo," sighed Artemis, "you need _more_ brain cells, not less."

**"Chiron," I said, still stunned by the fact that he was here. "You saved us."**

**He gave me a dry smile. "Well now, I couldn't very well let you die, especially since you've cleared my name."**

**"But how did you know where we were?" Annabeth asked.**

**"Advanced planning, my dear. I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami."**

**"Gee, thanks," Grover mumbled.**

Everyone laughed

"I love how Grover automatically assumes Chiron meant him," said Luke

**"No, no," Chiron said. "I didn't mean ... Oh, never mind. I**_**am**___**glad to see you, my young satyr. The point is, I was able to eavesdrop on Percy's Iris-message and trace the signal. Iris and I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area.**

**It then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. As you see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. Distance for us is not the same as distance for humans."**

"Which is why it's good to have them on your side," said Athena

**I looked over at the campfire, where three party ponies were teaching Tyson to operate a paintball gun. I hoped they knew what they were getting into.**

**"So what now?" I asked Chiron. "We just let Luke sail away? He's got Kronos aboard that ship. Or parts of him, anyway."**

**Chiron knelt, carefully folding his front legs underneath him. He opened the medicine pouch on his belt and started to treat my wounds. "I'm afraid, Percy, that today has been something of a draw. We didn't have the strength of numbers to take that ship. Luke was not organized enough to pursue us. Nobody won."**

"Like I said," smirked Annabeth, "Athena always has a plan."

**"But we got the Fleece!" Annabeth said. "Clarisse is on her way back to camp with it right now."**

**Chiron nodded, though he still looked uneasy. "You are all true heroes. And as soon as we get Percy fixed up, you must return to Half-Blood Hill. The centaurs shall carry you."**

**"You're coming, too?" I asked.**

**"Oh yes, Percy. I'll be relieved to get home. My brethren here simply do not appreciate Dean Martin's music.**

"No one likes Dean Martin anymore," said Thalia

"I don't know why he still listens to that," said Annabeth

"He's an odd centaur," said Percy

**Besides, I must have some words with Mr. D. There's the rest of the summer to plan. So much training to do. And I want to see ... I'm curious about the Fleece."**

**I didn't know exactly what he meant, but it made me worried about what Luke had said:**_**I was going to let you take the Fleece ... once I was done with it.**_

**Had he just been lying? I'd learned with Kronos there was usually a plan within a plan.**

"Yeah," said Luke, "there was a plan behind it, but I forgot it, so don't ask me."

**The titan lord wasn't called the Crooked One for nothing. He had ways of getting people to do what he wanted without them ever realizing his true intentions.**

**Over by the campfire, Tyson let loose with his paintball gun. A blue projectile splattered against one of the centaurs, hurling him backward into the lake. The centaur came up grinning, covered in swamp muck and blue paint, and gave Tyson two thumbs up.**

"Please don't let the Party Poneis corrupt Tyson," said Aphrodite, "I'd hate to have something happen to such a cute fellow."

"Don't worry," said Percy, "Annabeth and Grover are on the case."

**"Annabeth," Chiron said, "perhaps you and Grover would go supervise Tyson and my cousins before they, ah, teach each other too many bad habits?"**

**Annabeth met his eyes. Some kind of understanding passed between them.**

**"Sure, Chiron," Annabeth said. "Come on, goat boy."**

**"But I don't like paintball."**

"Yes you do," said AJ

**"Yes, you do." She hoisted Grover to his hooves and led him off toward the campfire**

**Chiron finished bandaging my leg. "Percy, I had a talk with Annabeth on the way here. A talk about the prophecy."**

"It wasn't her fault, though," said PJ, "bigger me made her tell me."

"Don't worry," said AJ, putting her hand on his, "I'll be fine."

"If you say so," said PJ, before the two notice their hands. AJ removes it, and they both look away, blushing.

**Uh-oh, I thought.**

**"It wasn't her fault," I said. "I made her tell me."**

**His eyes flickered with irritation. I was sure he was going to chew me out, but then his look turned to weariness. "I suppose I could not expect to keep it secret forever."**

**"So**_**am**___**I the one in the prophecy?"**

"Yes," sighed Annabeth, "As much as I wish you weren't, you are. It would have saved me from many nightmares."

Percy squeezed her hands in reassurance and gave her a kiss on her head for good measure.

**Chiron tucked his bandages back into his pouch. "I wish I knew, Percy. You're not yet sixteen. For now we must simply train you as best we can, and leave the future to the Fates."**

**The Fates. I hadn't thought about those old ladies in a long time, but as soon as Chiron mentioned them, something clicked.**

"What?" asked Thalia

"You''ll see," said PErcy

**"That's what it meant," I said.**

**Chiron frowned. "That's what**_**what**___**meant?"**

**"Last summer. The omen from the Fates, when I saw them snip somebody's life string. I thought it meant I was going to die right away, but it's worse than that. It's got something to do with your prophecy. The death they foretold—it's going to happen when I'm sixteen."**

"You actually knew before it happened?" asked Luke

"Actually," said Percy, "I didn't fully understand it until I saw the Fates once again when I was sixteen. Besides, it wasn't my string."

Percy glanced at Luke with apology, but Luke just passed it off.

**Chiron's tail whisked nervously in the grass. "My boy, you can't be sure of that. We don't even know if the prophecy is about you."**

**"But there isn't any other half-blood child of the Big Three!"**

"That is alive," said Thalia

"And you know of," said Nico

"And is Greek," said Jason

"And is obsessed with blue food," said Percy, causing everyone to look at him. Annabeth and Sally, however, didn't, and instead chose to look down and shake their heads.

"What?" he asked, confused, "you know it's true."

**"That we know of."**

**"And Kronos is rising. He's going to destroy Mount Olympus!"**

**"He will try," Chiron agreed. "And Western Civilization along with it, if we don't stop him. But we**_**will**___**stop him. You will not be alone in that fight."**

"He's not going to destroy Western Civilization," said LJ, "he promised that he'd save it."

"The Time Titan makes a lot of promises, boy," said Zeus, "but he doesn't fulfill all of them."

**I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but I remembered what Annabeth had told me. It would come down to one hero. One decision that would save or destroy the West. And I felt sure the Fates had been giving me some kind of warning about that. Something terrible was going to happen, either to me or to somebody I was close to.**

"Just like what I've been told," said Annabeth

"I'll be a big help to the prophecy," said AJ, "just not the way I'd think."

**"I'm just a**_**kid,**___**Chiron," I said miserably. "What good is one lousy hero against something like Kronos?"**

"Isn't that what some guy in the Civil War said before single-handedly changing the course of the Civil War?" asked AJ

**Chiron managed a smile. '"What good is one lousy hero'? Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain said something like that to me once, just before he single-handedly changed the course of your Civil War."**

"Oh, okay," said AJ, "one more topic to look into."

"Make sure to take breaks, Annabeth," whispered PJ, with such seriousness, it was hard not to smile, "they're important."

AJ smiled, "Okay, I'll make sure to take breaks."

**He pulled an arrow from his quiver and turned the razor-sharp tip so it glinted in the firelight. "Celestial bronze, Percy. An immortal weapon. What would happen if you shot this at a human?"**

**"Nothing," I said. "It would pass right through."**

**"That's right," he said. "Humans don't exist on the same level as the immortals. They can't even be hurt by our weapons. But you, Percy—you are part god, part human. You live in both worlds. You can be harmed by both, and you can affect both.**_**That's**___**what makes heroes so special. You carry the hopes of humanity into the realm of the eternal. Monsters never die. They are reborn from the chaos and barbarism that is always bubbling underneath civilization, the very stuff that makes Kronos stronger. They must be defeated again and again, kept at bay. Heroes embody that struggle. You fight the battles humanity must win, every generation, in order to stay human. Do you understand?"**

"That's so much pressure on them," said Aphrodite, "Isn't there something we can do?"

"That does sound like a lot," said Athena, "I'll look into what we can do to alleviate some of it."

**"I ... I don't know."**

**"You must try, Percy. Because whether or not you are the child of the prophecy, Kronos thinks you might be. And after today, he will finally despair of turning you to his side. That**_**is**___**the only reason he hasn't killed you yet, you know. As soon as he's sure he can't use you, he will destroy you."**

"Chiron talks as if he knows him," said PJ

"He does," said AJ

"How?" asked PJ

"It'll explain," said Percy

**"You talk like you know him."**

**Chiron pursed his lips. "I**_**do**___**know him."**

**I stared at him. I sometimes forgot just how old Chiron was. "Is that why Mr. D blamed you when the tree was poisoned? Why you said some people don't trust you?"**

**"Indeed."**

**"But, Chiron ... I mean, come on! Why would they think you'd ever betray the camp for Kronos?"**

**Chiron's eyes were deep brown, full of thousands of years of sadness. "Percy, remember your training. Remember your study of mythology. What is my connection to the titan lord?"**

**I tried to think, but I'd always gotten my mythology mixed up. Even now, when it was so real, so important to my own life, I had trouble keeping all the names and facts straight. I shook my head. "You, uh, owe Kronos a favor or something? He spared your life?"**

**"Percy," Chiron said, his voice impossibly soft. "The titan Kronos is my father."**

"Wait, what?" asked Leo

"It's true," said Zeus, "he is."

"How could I forget that?" asked Athena, "but it still doesn't make sense. At least 5 of the Olympians are born from the Time Titan, and yet we don't distrust them. Chiron is no different."

"Peace daughter," said Zeus, "what happens in these books will not happen again. They've been sent back for that reason, along with several others."

"I realize that," said Athena, "but still."

"You can think aobut it later," said Poseidon, "right now, we have a book to finish, and it looks like there's only about two chapters left."

"So," said Hera, "why don't we finish these two chapters, and then take the rest of the day off, if there is any?"

Everyone agreed, and they read on.


	25. Chapter 25

**The Chariot Race Ends with a Bang**

"Even after _he's_ gone, you guys still have the chariot races?" asked Apollo

"Yeah," said Percy

"Wait," said Thalia, "I just realized, I don't think this book mentioned where Blackjack ended up."

"Now that you mentioned it, you're right," said Percy, "I thought it would have. Anyway, if you must know, after Blackjack escaped from the ship, he followed me to Camp Half-Blood, where I gave him permission to enter, and had him stay in the stables."

"And ever since, he doesn't let anyone else ride him without your permission?" asked Jason

"Exactly," said Percy

"Except for me," said Annabeth, "Blackjack knows that when Percy means no one is allowed to ride him, he means everyone else but me and the gods."

"Why not Chiron?" asked Leo

"Idiot," said Piper, "Chiron's a centaur. How in the world would a centaur ride a Pegasus?"

"Good point, Beauty Queen," said Leo

"Don't call me that," snapped Piper, hitting Leo on the head again.

**We arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers.**

"Wow," said Leo, "so you could have done it without sending her on the plane."

"We didn't want to take the chance," said Annabeth, "besides, we didn't even know about Chiron and the Party Ponies coming until they came."

"Besides," said Percy, "if Clarisse had stayed, then the Time Titan would have gotten the Golden Fleece."

"Oh," said Leo, looking down in embarrassment

**I rode on Chiron's back, but we didn't talk much, especially not about Kronos. I knew it had been difficult for Chiron to tell me. I didn't want to push him with more questions. I mean, I've met plenty of embarrassing parents, but Kronos, the evil titan lord who wanted to destroy Western Civilization? Not the kind of dad you invited to school for career day.**

**When we got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.**

"D hasn't been in the mood to celebrate in a long time," said Apollo

**The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a**_**Draco Aionius**___**(which as near as I could figure was Latin for "really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blows-stuff-up").**

"I like Percy's name better," said Leo

**The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody looked weary and battered as we crowded around Thalia's tree.**

**The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver.**

"I wonder why," said Annabeth, eyeing Thalia's silver circlet.

**A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus—the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.**

**Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.**

Everyone sighed in relief that the camp was saved (except for LJ)

**Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt—the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.**

**Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece.**

"Was that how you got Peleus to guard the tree?" asked Jason

"Peleus?" asked LJ

"He's the dragon that guards Thalia's tree in our time line," said Annabeth

**He said he'd place an ad in**_**Olympus Weekly**___**right away.**

**In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.**

**Nobody gave Annabeth or me a second look.**

**It was as if we'd never left. In a way, I guess that was the best thank-you anyone could give us, because if they admitted we'd snuck out of camp to do the quest, they'd have to expel us. And really, I didn't want any more attention. It felt good to be just one of the campers for once.**

"Percy can never be one of the campers for once after what he's done," said Nico

"Why do you think I enjoyed the time I was?" asked Percy

**Later that night, as we were roasting s'mores and listening to the Stoll brothers**

**tell us a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries,** **Clarisse shoved me from behind and whispered in my ear, "Just because you were cool one time, Jackson, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you."**

"So this didn't clear it up?" asked Piper, "you'd think that this'd change their relationship status from rivals to friendly rivals."

"It wasn't this that changed it," said Percy, "it was something else."

**I gave her a grudging smile.**

**"What?" she demanded.**

**"Nothing," I said. "Just good to be home."**

"It always nice to be at home," said Nico, eyeing Hestia, who smiled back.

**The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. We'd all figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.**

"So, it's just one race?" asked Athena

"Actually," said Percy, "it's the one we didn't finish."

"The one Clarisse supposedly won," said Leo

**Tyson wasn't too keen on the idea of getting back in a chariot after our first experience, but he was happy to let me team up with Annabeth. I would drive, Annabeth would defend, and Tyson would act as our pit crew.**

"Percy and Annabeth will win," said Nico

"You're not even there," said LJ

"Little details," said Nico, waving it off

"I say that the Hermes cabin will win," said LJ

"I say Percy and Annabeth will," said Nico

"You wanna bet?" asked LJ

"20 drachmas," said Nico

"5 drachmas," said LJ

"10," said Nico

"Deal," said LJ, and the two sealed it with a handshake

"Now that the two of you are done betting," glared Athena, "can we please get back to the book?"

"Sorry," said the two, smiling sheepishly

**While I worked with the horses, Tyson fixed up Athena's chariot and added a whole bunch of special modifications.**

**We spent the next two days training like crazy. Annabeth and I agreed that if we won, the prize of no chores for the rest of the month would be split between our two cabins. Since Athena had more campers, they would get most of the time off, which was fine by me. I didn't care about the prize. I just wanted to win.**

"Who doesn't?" asked Apollo

"Nike doesn't," said Poseidon, causing confusion, "She _loves_ to win."

Everyone laughed.

**The night before the race, I stayed late at the stables. I was talking to our horses, giving them one final brushing, when somebody right behind me said, "Fine animals, horses. Wish I'd thought of them."**

"Too bad," said Poseidon, "I thought of them first."

**A middle-aged guy in a postal carrier outfit was leaning against the stable door.**

**He was slim, with curly black hair under his white pith helmet, and he had a mailbag slung over his shoulder.**

"Dad," said Luke and LJ, but LJ had a sneer, while Luke had a smile.

**"Hermes?" I stammered.**

**"Hello, Percy. Didn't recognize me without my jogging clothes?"**

"It wasn't that," said Percy, "I just didn't expect you. Sorry."

"It's all right," said Hermes, "No one should expect the gods to just pop up whenever they want. It'd cause too much delay with the mail if I did it. Who know what'd happen if the other did."

**"Uh ..." I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to kneel or buy stamps from him or what. Then it occurred to me why he must be here. "Oh, listen, Lord Hermes, about Luke ..."**

**The god arched his eyebrows.**

**"Uh, we saw him, all right," I said, "but—"**

**"You weren't able to talk sense into him?"**

**"Well, we kind of tried to kill each other in a duel to the death."**

"So the diplomatic approach?" asked Hermes

"The most diplomatic you can get with demigods," said Luke

**"I see. You tried the diplomatic approach."**

**"I'm really sorry. I mean, you gave us those awesome gifts and everything. And I know you wanted Luke to come back. But ... he's turned bad.**_**Really**___**bad. He said he feels like you abandoned him."**

"Which he did," said LJ

**I waited for Hermes to get angry. I figured he'd turn me into a hamster or something, and I did**_**not**___**want to spend any more time as a rodent.**

**Instead, he just sighed. "Do you ever feel your father abandoned**_**you,**___**Percy?"**

**Oh, man.**

**I wanted to say, "Only a few hundred times a day." I hadn't spoken to Poseidon since last summer. I'd never been to his underwater palace. And then there was the whole thing with Tyson—no warning, no explanation. Just**_**boom,**___**you have a brother. You'd think that deserved a little heads-up phone call or something.**

"Sorry," said Poseidon

**The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I realized I**_**did**___**want recognition for the quest I'd completed, but not from the other campers. I wanted my dad to say something. To notice me.**

"You wouldn't be the first," grumbled Thalia

**Hermes readjusted the mailbag on his shoulder. "Percy, the hardest part about being a god is that you must often act indirectly, especially when it comes to your own children. If we were to intervene every time our children had a problem … well, that would only create more problems and more resentment.**

"It would?" asked LJ, clearly confused

"How would you feel," asked Hermes, "if I came to help you with every single problem you had, along with your siblings?"

"I guess it'd seem like you didn't trust me," said LJ, "to do my own things."

"Exactly," said Hermes, "that's why I didn't want to interfere much. I knew that if I interfered more, than I'd cause more resentment than if I didn't interfere as much."

LJ looked down, and stayed silent. No one wanted to say anything in case one of them took it the wrong way.

**But I believe if you give it some thought, you will see that Poseidon**_**has**___**been paying attention to you. He has answered your prayers. I can only hope that someday, Luke may realize the same about me. Whether you feel like you succeeded or not, you reminded Luke who he was. You spoke to him."**

"At the end, though," said Percy, "it was Annabeth who spoke to him."

"You both did," said Luke, "I just didn't realize it until the end."

Percy, Annabeth, and Luke all smiled at each other.

**"I tried to kill him."**

**Hermes shrugged. "Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related, for better or worse … and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."**

"This is probably the messiest family ever," said Poseidon

**It didn't sound like much of a recipe for the perfect family. Then again, as I thought about my quest, I realized maybe Hermes was right. Poseidon had sent the hippocampi to help us. He'd given me powers over the sea that I'd never known about before. And there was Tyson. Had Poseidon brought us together on purpose? How many times had Tyson saved my life this summer?**

"I never gave you any powers you didn't already have," said Poseidon, "I wouldn't do that without permission."

"So, Percy could do that since he was born?" asked Leo

"I'm pretty sure he hasn't done anything related to ice, earthquakes, or storms yet," said Poseidon, "but I won't be surprised if he does."

"He's made a hurricane before," said Thalia, "so the storm part is down."

"And I'm pretty sure that blowing up a volcano counts as causing an earthquake," said Nico

"No it doesn't," said Percy, "that was just me calling the ocean."

"From Mt. St. Helens?" asked Thalia, "I think we all know even you can't do that."

"Actually, he's right," said Annabeth, "he called the ocean from that far. Otherwise, he wouldn't have blown it up."

**In the distance, the conch horn sounded, signaling curfew.**

**"You should get to bed," Hermes said. "I've helped you get into quite enough trouble this summer already. I really only came to make this delivery."**

"From who?" asked Hermes, "I rarely get deliveries for demigods unless it's from other demigods."

**"A delivery?"**

**"I**_**am**___**the messenger of the gods, Percy." He took an electronic signature pad from his mailbag and handed it to me. "Sign there, please."**

**I picked up the stylus before realizing it was entwined with a pair of tiny green snakes.**

**"Ah!" I dropped the pad.**

"They're not going to like that," said Hermes

_**Ouch,**___**said George.**

_**Really, Percy,**___**Martha scolded.**_**Would**___**you**_**want to be dropped on the floor of a horse stable?**_

**"Oh, uh, sorry." I didn't much like touching snakes, but I picked up the pad and the stylus again. Martha and George wriggled under my fingers, forming a kind of pencil grip like the ones my special ed teacher made me use in second grade.**

_**Did you bring me a rat?**___**George asked.**

**"No …" I said. "Uh, we didn't find any."**

_**What about a guinea pig?**_

"Not again," groaned Percy as he buried himself into Annabeth's hair.

Everyone was trying hard to hold in their snickers.

"Keep snickering," said Percy, "and I'll kill you all. Except Annabeth, Mom, Dad, and Paul. Annabeth's just getting really bruised up."

That shut those threatened up, and made such a face, that those watching burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Percy, looking up. When he saw everyone's faces, he burst out laughing as well.

"What's so funny?" asked Zeus, confused

"You," said Poseidon

"This is not the time to crack jokes Poseidon," said Zeus

"No, he's not joking," said Luke, as he remembered what everyone looked like and could only guess what his face looked like, "we all looked pretty funny when Percy threatened us."

Everyone who was threatened then remembered what their faces looked like, and burst out laughing as well.

_**George!**___**Martha chided.**_**Don't tease the boy.**_

**I signed my name and gave the pad back to Hermes.**

**In exchange, he handed me a sea-blue envelope.**

"What was the letter for?" asked Poseidon

"A warning," said Percy

**My fingers trembled. Even before I opened it, I could tell it was from my father. I could sense his power in the cool blue paper, as if the envelope itself had been folded out of an ocean wave.**

"Probably," said Poseidon, grinning, "those are my favorite kinds of envelopes."

**"Good luck tomorrow," Hermes said. "Fine team of horses you have there, though you'll excuse me if I root for the Hermes cabin."**

_**And don't be too discouraged when you read it, dear,**___**Martha told me.**_**He**___**does**_**have your interests at heart.**_

**"What do you mean?" I asked.**

_**Don't mind her,**___**George said.**_**And next time, remember, snakes work for tips.**_

**"Enough, you two," Hermes said. "Good-bye, Percy. For now."**

**Small white wings sprouted from his pith helmet. He began to glow, and I knew enough about the gods to avert my eyes before he revealed his true divine form. With a brilliant white flash he was gone, and I was alone with the horses.**

"Bet you like that, huh, Perce?" asked Thalia, "Alone with your kin."

"Who are you and what have you done with Thalia?" gasped Nico, "Our Thalia doesn't know the meanings of words such as 'kin.'"

"Oh, shut up, Death Breath," said Thalia

**I stared at the blue envelope in my hands. It was addressed in strong but elegant handwriting that I'd seen once before, on a package Poseidon had sent me last summer.**

_**Percy Jackson**_

_**Camp Half-Blood**_

_**Farm Road 3.141**_

_**Long Island, New York 11954**_

**An actual letter from my father. Maybe he would tell me I'd done a good job getting the Fleece. He'd explain about Tyson, or apologize for not talking to me sooner. There were so many things that I wanted that letter to say.**

"You're lucky," said Leo, "at least you've got a sign from your father before this." **(A/N I'm not sure if this is true or not, so if it isn't, please don't yell at me)**

"Why not?" asked Hephaestus

"Olympus is on lock-down," said Annabeth, "even I can't get in to design the buildings."

"Even if you did, you wouldn't," said Jason, "you'd be too busy searching for Percy, right?"

Annabeth's blush was an answer enough. Percy, sensing a blush, kissed her on her head.

**I opened the envelope and unfolded the paper.**

**Two simple words were printed in the middle of the page:**

_**Brace Yourself**_

"Do you think he knew?" whispered Annabeth

"Maybe," said Percy, "we are talking about the god of oceans, he could know anything and we'd still not know it."

"Just like you," said Annabeth

**The next morning, everybody was buzzing about the chariot race, though they kept glancing nervously toward the sky like they expected to see Stymphalian birds gathering. None did. It was a beautiful summer day with blue sky and plenty of sunshine. The camp had started to look the way it should look: the meadows were green and lush; the white columns gleamed on the Greek buildings; dryads played happily in the woods.**

**And I was miserable. I'd been lying awake all night, thinking about Poseidon's warning.**

_**Brace yourself.**_

"For what?" asked Leo

"You'll see," said Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico, all looking at each other.

**I mean, he goes to the trouble of writing a letter, and he writes two words?**

**Martha the snake had told me not to feel disappointed. Maybe Poseidon had a reason for being so vague. Maybe he didn't know exactly what he was warning me about, but he sensed something big was about to happen—** **something that could completely knock me off my feet unless I was prepared. It was hard, but I tried to turn my thoughts to the race.**

"Good," said Athena, "focus on what's coming up, not what's already happened."

**As Annabeth and I drove onto the track, I couldn't help admiring the work Tyson had done on the Athena chariot. The carriage gleamed with bronze reinforcements. The wheels were realigned with magical suspension so we glided along with hardly a bump.**

"That makes riding a chariot that much better," said Athena

**The rigging for the horses was so perfectly balanced that the team turned at the slightest tug of the reins.**

"That also help a chariot a lot," said Poseidon

**Tyson had also made us two javelins, each with three buttons on the shaft. The first button primed the javelin to explode on impact, releasing razor wire that would tangle and shred an opponent's wheels. The second button produced a blunt (but still very painful) bronze spearhead designed to knock a driver out of his carriage. The third button brought up a grappling hook that could be used to lock onto an enemy's chariot or push it away.**

"Good old Tyson," said Thalia

"Actually," said Percy, "it's good _young_ Tyson."

**I figured we were in pretty good shape for the race, but Tyson still warned me to be careful. The other chariot teams had plenty of tricks up their togas.**

Leo opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Piper, "If you're going to make a comment on what I think it is, don't expect to live another second."

Leo wisely shut his mouth up.

**"Here," he said, just before the race began.**

**He handed me a wristwatch. There wasn't anything special about it**—**just a white-and-silver clock face, a black leather strap—but as soon as I saw it I realized that this is what I'd seen him tinkering on all summer.**

"What is it?" asked Leo

**I didn't usually like to wear watches. Who cared what time it was? But I couldn't say no to Tyson.**

"How could you?" asked Aphrodite

"I didn't," said Percy

**"Thanks, man." I put it on and found it was surprisingly light and comfortable. I could hardly tell I was wearing it.**

**"Didn't finish in time for the trip," Tyson mumbled. "Sorry, sorry."**

**"Hey, man. No big deal."**

**"If you need protection in race," he advised, "hit the button."**

**"Ah, okay." I didn't see how keeping time was going to help a whole lot, but I was touched that Tyson was concerned. I promised him I'd remember the watch. "And, hey, um, Tyson ..."**

**He looked at me.**

**"I wanted to say, well ..." I tried to figure out how to apologize for getting embarrassed about him before the quest, for telling everyone he wasn't my real brother. It wasn't easy to find the words.**

"Yeah," said Annabeth, "even I had trouble saying it."

"You'd have trouble saying it to anyone," smiled Percy, "not just Tyson."

"She doesn't have trouble saying it to you," said Thalia, "which I don't get, because I've known her longer."

"And you were a tree for about half the time," said Percy, "so that doesn't count."

"And I'm pretty sure Annabeth's changed since the last time I've seen her," said Luke, "so I can't say much."

**"I know what you will tell me," Tyson said, looking ashamed. "Poseidon did care for me after all."**

"That was so not what he was going to say," said Thalia

**"Uh, well—"**

**"He sent you to help me. Just what I asked for."**

**I blinked. "You asked Poseidon for ... me?"**

**"For a friend," Tyson said, twisting his shirt in his hands.**

"That's so sweet," cooed Aphrodite

**"Young Cyclopes grow up alone on the streets, learn to make things out of scraps. Learn to survive."**

"That's so bad, though," said Piper

"I survived like that," said Leo, "kind of."

"Maybe," said Piper, "but you're you, and I have no sympathy for you."

**"But that's so cruel!"**

**He shook his head earnestly. "Makes us appreciate blessings, not be greedy and mean and fat like Polyphemus.**

"That is true," said Annabeth

**But I got scared. Monsters chased me so much, clawed me sometimes—"**

**"The scars on your back?"**

**A tear welled in his eye. "Sphinx on Seventy-second Street. Big bully. I prayed to Daddy for help. Soon the people at Meriwether found me. Met you. Biggest blessing ever. Sorry I said Poseidon was mean. He sent me a brother."**

"I'd help anyone who asks for it," said Poseidon, "as long as it's not for anything bad."

**I stared at the watch that Tyson had made me.**

**"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Come on!"**

**Chiron was at the starting line, ready to blow the conch.**

**"Tyson ..." I said.**

**"Go," Tyson said. "You will win!"**

**"I—yeah, okay, big guy. We'll win this one for you." I climbed on board the chariot and got into position just as Chiron blew the starting signal.**

"That we did," whispered Annabeth

**The horses knew what to do. We shot down the track so fast I would've fallen out if my arms hadn't been wrapped in the leather reins. Annabeth held on tight to the rail. The wheels glided beautifully. We took the first turn a full chariot-length ahead of Clarisse, who was busy trying to fight off a javelin attack from the Stoll brothers in the Hermes chariot.**

**"We've got 'em!" I yelled, but I spoke too soon.**

**"Incoming!" Annabeth yelled. She threw her first javelin in grappling hook mode, knocking away a lead-weighted net that would have entangled us both. Apollo's chariot had come up on our flank. Before Annabeth could rearm herself, the Apollo warrior threw a javelin into our right wheel. The javelin shattered, but not before snapping some of our spokes. Our chariot lurched and wobbled. I was sure the wheel would collapse altogether, but we somehow kept going.**

LJ smirked at Nico, but soon got confused when the son of Hades smiled devilishly.

**I urged the horses to keep up the speed. We were now neck and neck with Apollo. Hephaestus was coming up close behind. Ares and Hermes were falling behind, riding side by side as Clarisse went sword-on-javelin with Connor Stoll.**

**If we took one more hit to our wheel, I knew we would capsize.**

**"You're mine!" the driver from Apollo yelled. He was a first-year camper. I didn't remember his name, but he sure was confident.**

"Wrong place to put it," said Athena

**"Yeah, right!" Annabeth yelled back.**

**She picked up her second javelin—a real risk considering we still had one full lap to go—and threw it at the Apollo driver. Her aim was perfect.**

"Of course it was," said AJ

"It is _my_ aim," said Annabeth

"Prideful much?" asked Percy, playfully

"Shut up," smiled Annabeth, playfully hitting Percy on the arm.

**The javelin grew a heavy spear point just as it caught the driver in the chest, knocking him against his teammate and sending them both toppling out of their chariot in a backward somersault. The horses felt the reins go slack and went crazy, riding straight for the crowd. Campers scrambled for cover as the horses leaped the corner of the bleachers and the golden chariot flipped over.**

"Aww," said Apollo, "I was sure we'd win."

"You lost when you're driver tried to mess with my daughter," said Athena

"And my son," added Poseidon

**The horses galloped back toward their stable, dragging the upside-down chariot behind them**

**I held our own chariot together through the second turn, despite the groaning of the right wheel. We passed the starting line and thundered into our final lap.**

**The axle creaked and moaned. The wobbling wheel was making us lose speed, even though the horses were responding to my every command, running like a well-oiled machine.**

Hephaestus and Leo perked up at the mention of machine

**The Hephaestus team was still gaining.**

Here Hephaestus and Leo smiled

"Hephaestus team all the way!" said Leo

"No way," said Piper, slapping Leo in the head.

**Beckendorf grinned as he pressed a button on his command console. Steel cables shot out of the front of his mechanical horses, wrapping around our back rail. Our chariot shuddered as Beckendorf's winch system started working—pulling us backward while Beckendorf pulled himself forward.**

Hephaestus grunted in approval while Leo cheered.

**Annabeth cursed and drew her knife. She hacked at the cables but they were too thick.**

**"Can't cut them.'" she yelled.**

**The Hephaestus chariot was now dangerously close, their horses about to trample us underfoot.**

"Oh boy," groaned Poseidon

"Looks like this might be the end of team Percy and Annabeth," smirked LJ

"Just wait," said Nico, "Percy's plan hasn't kicked in yet."

**"Switch with me!" I told Annabeth. "Take the reins!"**

**"But—"**

**"Trust me!"**

**She pulled herself to the front and grabbed the reins. I turned, trying hard to keep my footing, and uncapped Riptide.**

"It's easier said than done," said Percy before Leo could open his mouth

**I slashed down and the cables snapped like kite string. We lurched forward, but Beckendorf's driver just swung his chariot to our left and pulled up next to us.** **Beckendorf drew his sword. He slashed at Annabeth, and I parried the blade away.**

"I can't believe I'm saying this," said Athena, "but thank you, Perseus."

"You're welcome," said Percy

Annabeth then smiled, and whispered, "She's going to do more than that next book."

"Next book?" asked Percy in confusion, before realizing why, "Yeah, I wouldn't count on it."

**We were coming up on the last turn. We'd never make it. I needed to disable the Hephaestus chariot and get it out of the way, but I had to protect Annabeth, too.**

"Of course," said Nico

"Annabeth's your main concern," said Thalia

"So it'd make sense that you'd want to protect her," said Luke

"Because she's your fair maiden!" finished the three together

By the end of this, not only were Percy and Annabeth blushing, but also PJ and AJ

**Just because Beckendorf was a nice guy didn't mean he wouldn't send us both to the infirmary if we let our guard down.**

**We were neck and neck now, Clarisse coming up from behind, making up for lost time.**

"Clarisse is going to win again," boasted Ares, "and you know it."

**"See ya, Percy!" Beckendorf yelled. "Here's a little parting gift!"**

**He threw a leather pouch into our chariot. It stuck to the floor immediately and began billowing green smoke.**

"Greek fire," said AJ

"Greek fire?" asked PJ

"It's a green liquid," explained AJ, "that explodes if it touches the ground and it's container is broken."

"And it burns underwater too," said Percy

**"Greek fire!" Annabeth yelled.**

**I cursed. I'd heard stories about what Greek fire could do. I figured we had maybe ten seconds before it exploded.**

Poseidon groaned, while Hephaestus nodded in pride.

**"Get rid of it!" Annabeth shouted, but I couldn't. Hephaestus's chariot was still alongside, waiting until the last second to make sure their little present blew up.**

**Beckendorf was keeping me busy with his sword. If I let my guard down long enough to deal with the Greek fire, Annabeth would get sliced and we'd crash anyway. I tried to kick the leather pouch away with my foot, but I couldn't. It was stuck fast.**

**Then I remembered the watch.**

**I didn't know how it could help, but I managed to punch the stopwatch button. Instantly, the watch changed. It expanded, the metal rim spiraling outward like an old-fashioned camera shutter, a leather strap wrapping around my forearm until I was holding a round war shield four feet wide, the inside soft leather, the outside polished bronze engraved with designs I didn't have time to examine.**

"Tyson came through," said PJ

**All I knew: Tyson had come through. I raised the shield, and Beckendorf's sword clanged against it. His blade shattered.**

**"What?" he shouted. "How—"**

**He didn't have time to say more because I knocked him in the chest with my new shield and sent him flying out of his chariot, tumbling in the dirt.**

**I was about use Riptide to slash at the driver when Annabeth yelled, "Percy!"**

**The Greek fire was shooting sparks. I shoved the tip of my sword under the leather pouch and flipped it up like a spatula. The firebomb dislodged and flew into the Hephaestus chariot at the driver's feet. He yelped.**

Hephaestus grunted, while Poseidon smiled.

"Aww," said Leo, "and I thought my cabin was going to win."

"Not today," taunted PJ

**In a split second the driver made the right choice: he dove out of the chariot, which careened away and exploded in green flames. The metal horses seemed to short-circuit. They turned and dragged the burning wreckage back toward Clarisse and the Stoll brothers, who had to swerve to avoid it.**

"Are you telling me Clarisse doesn't win it?" growled Ares, "She is such a disappointment."

"You're too hard on her," said Aphrodite, "you won't find any pride in her unless you actually give her a chance."

"I did," said Ares, "and she had to rely on that punk over there to succeed."

"Why are you trying to go against Fate?" asked Aphrodite, "Do you know how deadly that is?"

"For once, she speaks sense," said Athena, "you should also see it Ares."

Ares grumbled before waving it off.

**Annabeth pulled the reins for the last turn. I held on, sure we would capsize, but somehow she brought us through and spurred the horses across the finish line. The crowd roared.**

**Once the chariot stopped, our friends mobbed us. They started chanting our names, but Annabeth yelled over the noise: "Hold up! Listen! It wasn't just us!"**

"What do you mean?" asked LJ, "If you ask me, it was all you and Percy."

"Nope," said Annabeth, "it wasn't just me and Percy."

**The crowd didn't want to be quiet, but Annabeth made herself heard: "We couldn't have done it without somebody else! We couldn't have won this race or gotten the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to Tyson, Percy's ..."**

"Brother," smiled Percy, PJ, Annabeth, AJ, Thalia, Nico, Sally, Luke, and Poseidon

**"Brother!" I said, loud enough for everybody to hear. "Tyson, my baby brother."**

**Tyson blushed. The crowd cheered. Annabeth planted a kiss on my cheek.**

"Duck and cover!" yelled Annabeth, right before everyone covered their ears, well except for Leo, who was confused.

"What? Why?" asked Leo, right before Aphrodite squealed so loud, it was heard in China.

**The roaring got a lot louder after that. The entire Athena cabin lifted me and Annabeth and Tyson onto their shoulders and carried us toward the winner's platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.**

"Probably thinking of how oblivious you two are to your love as well," said Thalia

"Shut it you," said Annabeth, though they could see a ghost of a smile on her face.


	26. Chapter 26

"This looks like the last chapter," said Hephaestus, "so after this, we take the rest of the day off?"

"Yes," said Hera, "now hurry up. I want to get this book finished before it gets too dark. I still have some things to do afterwards."

"Wait," said Nico, causing Hera to glare at him, even if the son of Hades was unfazed, "before we go, I believe LJ has something for me?"

"Here," said LJ handing over 20 drachmas to Nico

"Where'd you get all these drachmas?" asked Piper

"I'm a son of Hermes," said LJ, though he had snarled his father's name, "where do you think? My dad, of course."

"Wow," said Hermes, "even if you're on the side of evil, you still follow in my footsteps."

**The Fleece works its magic too well**

"Is this when I come in?" asked Thalia

"Yeah," said Percy

**That afternoon was one of the happiest I'd ever spent at camp, which maybe goes to show, you never know when your world is about to be rocked to pieces.**

"Tell me about it," grumbled Piper

**Grover announced that he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with us before resuming his quest for Pan.**

**His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn't gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers, that they granted him a two-month furlough and a new set of reed pipes. The only bad news: Grover insisted on playing those pipes all afternoon long, and his musical skills hadn't improved much.**

Everyone laughed

"He'll never get better, will he?" asked Thalia

**He played "YMCA," and the strawberry plants started going crazy, wrapping around our feet like they were trying to strangle us. I guess I couldn't blame them.**

**Grover told me he could dissolve the empathy link between us, now that we were face to face, but I told him I'd just as soon keep it if that was okay with him. He put down his reed pipes and stared at me. "But, if I get in trouble again, you'll be in danger, Percy! You could die!"**

"Like that'll be the least of his worries while you're in trouble," said Thalia

"If one of Percy's friends or loved ones are in trouble," said Nico, "he isn't the one in trouble."

"It's whoever's in his way that's in trouble," said Luke

**"If you get in trouble again, I want to know about it. And I'll come help you again, G-man. I wouldn't have it any other way."**

**In the end he agreed not to break the link. He went back to playing "YMCA" for the strawberry plants. I didn't need an empathy link with the plants to know how they felt about it.**

Everyone laughed once again, glad to release the tension that may have been remaining

**Later on during archery class, Chiron pulled me aside and told me he'd fixed my problems with Meriwether Prep. The school no longer blamed me for destroying their gymnasium. The police were no longer looking for me.**

**"How did you manage that?" I asked.**

**Chiron's eyes twinkled. "I merely suggested that the mortals had seen something different on that day—a furnace explosion that was not your fault."**

**"You just said that and they bought it?"**

**"I manipulated the Mist. Some day, when you're ready, I'll show how it's done."**

"Has he shown you yet?" asked Thalia

"Actually, he didn't," said Percy, "but Lupa did."

"She did?" asked Thalia, "Why her and not Chiron?"

"Well, you see," said Percy, "Chiron was going to teach me the day I switched camps, and Lupa realized that I'm going to need it, especially since I'm one of the Big Three kids, and we're going to need it when we head home."

"You bet we are," said Thalia

"Why would you need it at home?" asked Poseidon

"Let's just say it'll help if and when I accidently explode a school gymnasium," said Percy

**"You mean I can go back to Meriwether next year?"**

**Chiron raised his eyebrows. "Oh, no, they've still expelled you. Your headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, said you had—how did he put it?—un-groovy karma that disrupted the school's educational aura. But you're not in any legal trouble, which was a relief to your mother. Oh, and speaking of your mother ..."**

**He unclipped his cell phone from his quiver and handed it to me. "It's high time you called her."**

"You really scared me when you ran away from camp, you know," said Sally

"Sorry," said Percy, "but I needed to save Grover."

"I didn't say you shouldn't have done it," said Sally, "just make sure you get permission next time."

"Not making any promises," said Percy

"You're mother is so awesome," whispered AJ, "you barely get in trouble with her. I wish I could say the same with my dad and step-mom."

"I'm sure we can change it," said PJ, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

**The worst part was the beginning—the "Percy-Jackson-what-were-you-thinking-do-you-have-any-idea-how-worried-I-was-sneaking-off-to-camp-without-permission-going-on-dangerous-quests-and-scaring-me-half-to-death" part.**

**But finally she paused to catch her breath. "Oh, I'm just glad you're safe!"**

**That's the great thing about my mom. She's no good at staying angry. She tries, but it just isn't in her nature.**

"That's what makes her her," said Paul, wrapping an arm around her.

"Thanks," blushed Sally

**"I'm sorry, Mom," I told her. "I won't scare you again."**

**"Don't promise me that, Percy. You know very well it will only get worse." She tried to sound casual about it, but I could tell she was pretty shaken up.**

"You have no idea," said Sally

**I wanted to say something to make her feel better, but I knew she was right. Being a half-blood, I would always be doing things that scared her. And as I got older, the dangers would just get greater.**

"You have no idea," said Percy, causing everyone to laugh

**"I could come home for a while," I offered.**

**"No, no. Stay at camp. Train. Do what you need to do. But you**_**will**___**come home for the next school year?"**

**"Yeah, of course. Uh, if there's any school that will take me."**

**"Oh, we'll find something, dear," my mother sighed. "Some place where they don't know us yet."**

"That's gonna be key," said Annabeth

"I tell you," said Sally, "90% of the schools in the area won't let him come in, and most of them only know Percy through the schools he went to."

"Guess it doesn't get better for a while," sighed PJ

"I'm sure we can change that," quoted AJ, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. The two smiled at each other, and silently promised to help each other with the other's problems

**As for Tyson, the campers treated him like a hero. I would've been happy to have him as my cabin mate forever, but that evening, as we were sitting on a sand dune overlooking the Long Island Sound, he made an announcement that completely took me by surprise.**

**"Dream came from Daddy last night," he said. "He wants me to visit."**

**I wondered if he was kidding, but Tyson really didn't know how to kid. "Poseidon sent you a dream message?"**

**Tyson nodded. "Wants me to go underwater for the rest of the summer. Learn to work at Cyclopes' forges. He called it an inter—an intern—"**

"An internship?" asked PJ

**"An internship?"**

**"Yes." I let that sink in. I'll admit, I felt a little jealous. Poseidon had never invited**_**me**___**underwater. But then I thought, Tyson was**_**going?**___**Just like that?**

"Sorry," said Poseidon, "but the Cyclopes who stay good are called to my palace's forges."

"I know," said Percy

**"When would you leave?" I asked.**

**"Now."**

**"Now. Like ...**_**now**_ **now?"**

**"Now."**

**I stared out at the waves in the Long Island Sound. The water was glistening red in the sunset.**

**"I'm happy for you, big guy," I managed. "Seriously."**

**"Hard to leave my new brother," he said with a tremble in his voice. "But I want to make things. Weapons for the camp. You will need them."**

"You have no idea," said Thalia

"Stop quoting my mom," said Percy, "only I can do that."

"Shush you," said Sally, "Just look at it as her quoting you."

**Unfortunately, I knew he was right. The Fleece hadn't solved all the camp's problems.**

**Luke was still out there, gathering an army aboard the**_**Princess Andromeda.**___**Kronos was still re-forming in his golden coffin. Eventually, we would have to fight them.**

**"You'll make the best weapons ever," I told Tyson. I held up my watch proudly. "I bet they'll tell good time, too."**

**Tyson sniffled. "Brothers help each other."**

**"You're my brother," I said. "No doubt about it."**

**He patted me on the back so hard he almost knocked me down the sand dune. Then he wiped a tear from his cheek and stood to go. "Use the shield well."**

"It doesn't last long, unfortunately," said Percy

**"I will, big guy."**

**"Save your life some day."**

**The way he said it, so matter-of-fact, I wondered if that Cyclops eye of his could see into the future.**

"No," said Poseidon

"You got to admit," said Nico, "it'd be awesome if you had a future-seeing brother."

**He headed down to the beach and whistled. Rainbow, the hippocampus, burst out of the waves. I watched the two of them ride off together into the realm of Poseidon.**

**Once they were gone, I looked down at my new wristwatch. I pressed the button and the shield spiraled out to full size. Hammered into the bronze were pictures in Ancient Greek style, scenes from our adventures this summer. There was Annabeth slaying a Laistrygonian dodgeball player, me fighting the bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill, Tyson riding Rainbow toward the**_**Princess Andromeda,**_ **the CSS**_**Birmingham**_ **blasting its cannons at Charybdis.**

**I ran my hand across a picture of Tyson, battling the Hydra as he held aloft a box of Monster Donuts.**

"I just can't get over how cute he is," cooed Aphrodite

**I couldn't help feeling sad. I knew Tyson would have an awesome time under the ocean. But I'd miss everything about him—his fascination with horses, the way he could fix chariots or crumple metal with his bare hands, or tie bad guys into knots. I'd even miss him snoring like an earthquake in the next bunk all night.**

**"Hey, Percy."**

**I turned.**

**Annabeth and Grover were standing at the top of the sand dune. I guess maybe I had some sand in my eyes, because I was blinking a lot.**

"We just thought that you had some tears in your eyes," said Annabeth

"I'd like to see Percy cry," said Thalia

"I'll make you cry," threatened Percy

**"Tyson ..." I told them. "He had to ..."**

**"We know," Annabeth said softly. "Chiron told us."**

**"Cyclopes forges." Grover shuddered. "I hear the cafeteria food there is terrible! Like, no enchiladas**_**at all."**_

"Of course that's what he thinks of first," said Thalia

**Annabeth held out her hand. "Come on, Seaweed Brain. Time for dinner."**

**We walked back toward the dining pavilion together, just the three of us, like old times.**

**A storm raged that night, but it parted around Camp Half-Blood as storms usually did.**

**Lightning flashed against the horizon, waves pounded the shore, but not a drop fell in our valley. We were protected again, thanks to the Fleece, sealed inside our magical borders.**

"Feels nice to be safe once in a while," said Percy

**Still, my dreams were restless. I heard Kronos taunting me from the depths of Tartarus:**_**Polyphemus sits blindly in his cave, young hero, believing he has won a great victory. Are you any less deluded?**___**The titan's cold laughter filled the darkness.**

"I'm not deluded," said Percy, "just crazy in love."

Aphrodite squealed at this, while Annabeth gave Percy a kiss as a reward.

**Then my dream changed. I was following Tyson to the bottom of the sea, into the court of Poseidon. It was a radiant hall filled with blue light, the floor cobbled with pearls.**

**And there, on a throne of coral, sat my father, dressed like a simple fisherman in khaki shorts and a sun-bleached T-shirt. I looked up into his tan weathered face, his deep green eyes, and he spoke two words:**_**Brace yourself.**_

"Can you warn him anymore?" asked Sally, "The boy has enough on his plate as it is."

**I woke with a start.**

**There was a banging on the door. Grover flew inside without waiting for permission.**

**"Percy!" he stammered. "Annabeth ... on the hill ... she ..."**

**The look in his eyes told me something was terribly wrong. Annabeth had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. If something had happened—**

"You worry too much," said Annabeth

"I can't help it," said Percy

"You should have seen how he was when we were trying to find you," said Thalia

**I ripped off the covers, my blood like ice water in my veins. I threw on some clothes while Grover tried to make a complete sentence, but he was too stunned, too out of breath. "She's lying there ... just lying there …"**

**I ran outside and raced across the central yard, Grover right behind me. Dawn was just breaking, but the whole camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way toward the hill, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armor and pajamas.**

"When you see it, then you'll agree," said Percy

"Why would you focus on that in the first place?" asked Thalia, "What about me?"

"What about you?" asked Percy, "you've waited for a few years, you can wait twelve more seconds."

"I'VE DONE MY WAITING!" exploded Thalia, "12 YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!"

"Too bad," said Percy, "You'll have to wait a little longer Sirius to kill Peter. Just wait for Harry to find out why."

"Enough with the Harry Potter references," said Nico, "all this book related talk is hurting my mind."

**I heard the clop of horse hooves, and Chiron galloped up behind us, looking grim.**

**"Is it true?" he asked Grover.**

**Grover could only nod, his expression dazed.**

**I tried to ask what was going on, but Chiron grabbed me by the arm and effortlessly lifted me onto his back. Together we thundered up Half-Blood Hill, where a small crowd had started to gather.**

**I expected to see the Fleece missing from the pine tree, but it was still there, glittering in the first light of dawn. The storm had broken and the sky was blood red.**

**"Curse the titan lord," Chiron said. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."**

"What does he mean?" asked PJ

"I think that he wanted Thalia to come back," said AJ

"You're right," nodded Luke grimly, "he wanted to bring back Thalia and use her fatal flaw against her to defeat Olympus."

**"What do you mean?" I asked.**

**"The Fleece," he said. "The Fleece did its work too well."**

**We galloped forward, everyone moving out of our way. There at the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Another girl in Greek armor was kneeling next to her.**

**Blood roared in my ears. I couldn't think straight. Annabeth had been attacked? But why was the Fleece still there?**

"It's so cute how he immediately thinks of Annabeth before anything else," said Aphrodite

"Just goes to prove how oblivious they were to their love," said Thalia, causing Percy and Annabeth to blush

**The tree itself looked perfectly fine, whole and healthy, suffused with the essence of the Golden Fleece.**

**"It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it purged."**

**Then I realized Annabeth wasn't the one lying on the ground. She was the one in armor, kneeling next to the unconscious girl. When Annabeth saw us, she ran to Chiron. "It... she ... just suddenly there …"**

"Wow," said Thalia, "I made Annabeth speechless. That's an accomplishment in itself."

"Yeah, one time," said Percy, "I can do it anytime."

"I know," said Thalia, "you do it everyday whenever you can."

"Are you trying to get her pregnant?" glared Athena

"What?" asked Thalia, surprised, "no, I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about making Annabeth speechless."

"Besides," said Percy, "my mom would kill me if I got her pregnant before it's time."

"You bet I would," said Sally

**Her eyes were streaming with tears, but I still didn't understand. I was too freaked out to make sense of it all. I leaped off Chiron's back and ran toward the unconscious girl.**

**Chiron said: "Percy, wait!"**

**I knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth—a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands I'd never heard of.**

"How could you not have heard of them?" asked Thalia

"I didn't really listen to music," said Percy, "Besides, I don't need to since you'd probably tell me about it one way or another."

"Don't even argue," said Annabeth before Thalia could open her mouth, "he's right about you probably telling him aobut it."

**She wasn't a camper. I didn't recognize her from any of the cabins. And yet I had the strangest feeling I'd seen her before...**

"Maybe because you saw me in your dreams for some reason," said Thalia

**"It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe ..."**

**Nobody else came close to the girl.**

**I put my hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but my fingertips tingled as if they were burning.**

"Electricity," said Thalia, sending some sparks from her fingertips towards Nico and shocking him.

"Why me?" asked Nico

"Because you're more fun to spark," said Thalia

**"She needs nectar and ambrosia," I said. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a camper or not. I could sense that just from one touch. I didn't understand why everyone was acting so scared.**

"I do now," said Percy, "she's mental."

"Hey!" said Thalia

"We're all mental," said Nico

**I took her by the shoulders and lifted her into sitting position, resting her head on my shoulder.**

**"Come on!" I yelled to the others. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House."**

**No one moved, not even Chiron. They were all too stunned.**

**Then the girl took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes.**

**Her irises were startlingly blue—electric blue.**

**The girl stared at me in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who—"**

**"I'm Percy," I said. "You're safe now."**

**"Strangest dream …"**

"A dream?" asked Apollo

"It felt like a draem," said Thalia, "How would you feel if you died while blacking out and then woke up in what seemed like few minutes, with no clue what was going on."

"Probably the same," said Apollo, "but I've never felt that way, so I can't say anything."

**"It's okay."**

**"Dying."**

**"No," I assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?"**

**That's when I knew. Even before she said it.**

**The girl's blue eyes stared into mine, and I understood what the Golden Fleece quest had been about. The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play—**_**another chance to control the prophecy.**_

"And he still was stuck with having Percy being the prophecy child," said Thalia

"Better Percy than me or Thalia," said Nico, "at least Percy's fatal flaw is harder to take advantage of."

**Even Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future.**

**And I was holding someone who was destined to be my best friend, or possibly my worst enemy.**

"Best friend," said Thalia, while Percy and Nico said, "Evil cousin."

Thalia glared at the two, but Percy shook if off, while Nico glared right back.

**"I am Thalia," the girl said. "Daughter of Zeus."**

"Thank you for that," sneered Hera, "thanks to you, that scum of a daughter is back and alive."

"Hey," said Thalia, "this scum of a daughter helped save Olympus."

"Don't talk to Thalia like that," said Percy, "what has she done to you?"

"She was born," said Hera

"And how does that affect you?" asked Percy, "So what she's born? She's born, deal with it. If she actually did something to you first, then I'd understand, but from what I've heard, you've always taken the initiative against demigods, no matter what they did. No wonder you're the least liked god or goddess."

"I am not," said Hera, "I'm pretty sure demigods like me."

"Yeah," said Thalia, "demigods _love_ people who hate them just because they were born. That makes perfect sense."

"Why you little—" started Hera, but was interrupted by Poseidon, "They've got a point, you know. Even though Amphitrite hates all my demigod children, she doesn't act this way towards the kids of other gods and goddesses."

"Well she's not the goddess of marriages," said Hera

"More like the Goddess of anger," snorted Annabeth, "you only care about perfect families. Guess what, cow puss, perfect families barely exist. Each and every family has its faults. Unfortunately, you're too stupid or proud to realize that. It's hard to tell."

"How would you know?" asked Hera

"Because my family isn't perfect," said Annabeth, "my mother used to be the enemy of my boyfriend's father. My grandfather is a zap-happy maniac. I'm technically dating my uncle, best friends with my uncles and aunt, have an uncle who's over 80 years old, an aunt who's been a tree, and a step-grandmother who's too stupid to realize that families' imperfection make them what they are. That's not even half of it."

"Why—" started Hera, but wa interrupted once again, this time by Zeus, "Hera! She's right."

"Hera," said Athena, "is it really wise to protect only perfect families. I'm sure if you look throughout the mortals, you'll find families where there aren't even any parents, yet the people in that family are happy with the family that they have. Some of these families aren't even related, yet they're happy with the family they have."

"Perfect families aren't always blood-related," said Percy, "I mean, look at this: the Olympian family aren't all blood related, yet we're all family. Annabeth's practically part of my family, and she's my _girlfriend_. The same could be said about the campers in Camp Half-Blood. We're all practically family, yet half of us aren't even related, but we're happy the way we are."

"You really are deluded," said Nico, "if you think that families are made by blood. If that's true, then I only have one living family member. Yes, dad, Bianca died, but we'll get to that later. Anyways, you could say I only have one family member alive, but I don't. I say that I have at least nine family members alive, and none of them are my full relatives. Percy and Thalia are my cousins, Annabeth and Hazel are practically my sisters, Paul's practically my second father, after my real dad, and Sally is practically my mom. We all love each other, in some way or another, and are happy the way we are."

"I'm not taking any of this," said Hera before flashing out.

"Might as well extend that break to two days," said Zeus, "It'll take a while for her to cool down, especially when she knows that you guys are right."

"If it helps change the future for the better," said Percy, "then we'll do anything to do it."

All the mortals agreed

"That is a good thing," said Athena, "now, why don't we start the break now, hmm?"

Everyone agreed this time, and left the throne room


	27. Chapter 27

Hello People of this planet called Earth:

I have posted the sequel for this story, please be on the lookout for it, and please review. I have asked you, the readers/reviewers/my fans, to give me opinions on a very important thing that will be explained in the sequel. Again, please be on the lookout for it.

That is all,

82mangolian


	28. Chapter 28

Hello People of this planet called Earth:

Okay, so some of you may have noticed that my sequel has been deleted. This is mainly because some retards with nothing better to do (ahemCritics United idiotsahem) have decided to report it. Now I wouldn't really care if they did, but someone just told me that I may get banned for a while and may not be able to post any more stories if I continue, so I was forced to take it down. So, technically, they just blackmailed me by forcing me to choose between future stories, where you guys, my fans, will be able to read, or not having any of the stories I have already posted up up on the site at all. I'd understand if you hate me now, and I wouldn't really blame you.

Until next time,

82mangolian


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